An experimental test of the relationship between voice intonation and persuasion in the domain of health

Abstract

A high level of intonation seems to induce self-regulatory defences in people who do not see the necessity to change their health behaviour, whereas people with poor perceived health might perceive potential to change. The use of a normal level of intonation in auditory health messages is recommended.

Reading or Listening to a Gain- or Loss-Framed Health Message: Effects of Message Framing and Communication Mode in the Context of Fruit and Vegetable Intake

“…The gainframed message (237 words) included the positive outcomes of consuming sufficient fruit and vegetables (e.g., it would lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases), whereas the loss-framed message (242 words) mentioned the negative outcomes of consuming insufficient fruit and vegetables (e.g., it is related to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases). Both the auditory and the written messages were adopted from previous research (Elbert & Dijkstra, 2014. The average duration of the audiotapes was 1 minute and 48 seconds.…”

“…In addition, auditory messages might lead to more feelings of trust and cooperation and increased feelings of social proximity and salience: the information can be perceived as more direct and personal (Chaiken & Eagly, 1983;Jensen, Farnham, Drucker, & Kollock, 2000). Finally, in auditory messages, the mental representation of the content may be more clear by the addition of nonverbal information; voice characteristics can enhance the clarity of the message by emphasizing certain phrases or words that support the listener in how to understand the message (Elbert & Dijkstra, 2014;Nolan, 2006). This can all possibly work as a peripheral cue enhancing the effectiveness of audiovisual messages (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986).…”

Production, perception, and communicative goals of American newscaster speech

“…Prosodic, lexical, syntactic, and other features—linguistic and paralinguistic—combine to produce certain effects in speech. Studies show that prosodic features can convey authority, credibility, competence, and likability in the speaker (Zuckerman & Miyake 1993; Chattopadhyay, Dahl, Ritchie, & Shahin 2003; Rosenberg & Hirschberg 2005, 2009; Arrabito 2009; Rodero, Larrea, & Vázquez 2010; Elbert & Dijkstra 2014; inter alia). Projecting these qualities is especially critical in news reading.…”

Effects of tailoring ingredients in auditory persuasive health messages on fruit and vegetable intake

“…Next, participants were asked to indicate to what extent they considered themselves as healthy (see also Elbert & Dijkstra, 2014; perceived own health status, based on Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek 2013). The intention to start consuming more fruit and vegetables in the next year was assessed with two items (r = .77, p < .001).…”

“…The intention to start consuming more fruit and vegetables in the next year was assessed with two items (r = .77, p < .001). These items could be answered on seven-point scales ranging from 'absolutely not'/'very unlikely' [1] to 'absolutely'/'very likely' [7] (see also Elbert & Dijkstra, 2014).…”