Should health communication regarding COVID‐19 emphasize self‐ or other‐focused impacts of mitigation behaviors? Insights from two message matching studies

Mask-wearing, social distancing, and vaccination remain effective ways to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Yet, many hesitate enact some or all these preventive behaviors. We created three persuasive messages—framed promote benefits either (1) oneself, (2) close-others, (3) distant-others—to determine whether effectiveness messages varied based on personality differences (specifically independent/interdependent self-construal chronic construal level). In two online experiments (N = 862), we measured individual showed participants one messages. Consistent interactions between interdependent message conditions that those high in responded most positively self-focused promoting mask-wearing, COVID-19 vaccination. Those low negatively Although no interaction effect was observed for independent self-construal, inconsistent evidence emerged level, other-focused performed better equally well may thus be promising future public health communication efforts.