Exploring Interpretation of Complexity and Typicality in Narratives and Statistical Images about the Social Determinants of Health

Lundell, Helen; Niederdeppe, Jeff; Clarke, Chris

doi:10.1080/10410236.2012.699887

Cited by 21 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Recent qualitative work suggests that narratives may be uniquely positioned to influence causal attributions and policy support by encouraging people to integrate complex information about causes of social problems (Lundell, Niederdeppe, & Clarke, 2012). The current study tests this idea by examining responses to stories about obesity's multifaceted causes and (possible) solutions.…”

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confidence: 86%

“…Since counterarguing reduces persuasion, stories that effectively reduce counterarguments produce a persuasive advantage (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). Third, stories may be uniquely positioned to convey complex causal information in a way that invites the audience members to integrate that causal information and alter their causal attributions (Dahlstrom, 2010;Lundell et al, 2012;Tsoukas & Hatch, 2001). While much of the existing literature on narrative persuasion has focused on identification and narrative engagement as explanatory mechanisms for story effects, this study focuses on the role of complex causal integration as another variable involved in the process of narrative persuasion.…”

Section: Narrative Persuasion Causality and Complex Integrationmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Narrative Persuasion, Causality, Complex Integration, and Support for Obesity Policy

Niederdeppe

Shapiro

Kim

et al. 2013

Health Communication

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100

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Narrative messages have the potential to convey causal attribution information about complex social issues. This study examined attributions about obesity, an issue characterized by interrelated biological, behavioral, and environmental causes. Participants were randomly assigned to read one of three narratives emphasizing societal causes and solutions for obesity or an unrelated story that served as the control condition. The three narratives varied in the extent to which the character in the story acknowledged personal responsibility (high, moderate, and none) for controlling her weight. Stories that featured no acknowledgment and moderate acknowledgment of personal responsibility, while emphasizing environmental causes and solutions, were successful at increasing societal cause attributions about obesity and, among conservatives, increasing support for obesity-related policies relative to the control group. The extent to which respondents were able to make connections between individual and environmental causes of obesity (complex integration) mediated the relationship between the moderate acknowledgment condition and societal cause attributions. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this work for narrative persuasion theory and health communication campaigns.

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confidence: 86%

Section: Narrative Persuasion Causality and Complex Integrationmentioning

confidence: 98%

Narrative Persuasion, Causality, Complex Integration, and Support for Obesity Policy

Niederdeppe

Shapiro

Kim

et al. 2013

Health Communication

Self Cite

100

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A growing body of research has examined the use of alternative causal frames of obesity besides personal responsibility, such as social justice (Adler and Stewart, 2009), and the use of framing elements in driving support for obesity policies, including metaphors (Barry, Brescoll, Brownell and Schlesinger, 2009), personal narratives (Lundell et al, 2013;Niederdeppe et al, 2014), thematic frames (Major, 2009), and exemplars (Hoeken and Hustinx, 2007), and causal chains . However, there is a paucity of empirical evidence regarding the influence of messages that directly identifies the food industry as a primary causal agent of obesity.…”

Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing public support for food-industry related, obesity prevention policies: The role of a taste-engineering frame and contextualized values

Ortiz

Zimmerman

Adler

2016

Social Science & Medicine

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a b s t r a c tBackground: Support for policies to combat obesity is often undermined by a public sense that obesity is largely a matter of personal responsibility. Industry rhetoric is a major contributor to this perception, as the soda/fast food/big food companies emphasize choice and individual agency in their efforts to neutralize policies that are burdensome. Yet obesity experts recognize that environmental forces play a major role in obesity. We investigate whether exposure to a taste-engineering frame increases support for food and beverage policies that address obesity. A taste-engineering frame details strategies used by the food industry to engineer preferences and increase the over-consumption of processed foods and sugary beverages. We also examine the effects of exposure to two contextualized values that have recently been promoted in expert discourseeconsumer knowledge and consumer safety e on public support of policies. Our research shows how causal frames and contextualized values may effectively produce support for new obesity policies. Methods: We use an online survey experiment to test the effects of exposure to a taste-engineering frame (TEF), the value of consumer knowledge (CK), or the value of consumer safety (CS), on level of support for a range of policies. A random sample of adults, age 18 þ living in the United States was included in the study (N ¼ 2580). Ordered logistic regression was used to measure the effects of treatment exposure. The primary outcome was level-of-support for four (4) food-industry related, obesity prevention policies (aka food and beverage policies): 1) require food-manufacturers to disclose the amount of additives in food products on food packaging; 2) require food-manufacturers to advertise food products in accordance with their actual nutritional value; 3) prohibit all high-fat, high-sugar food advertising on television programming watched primarily by children; and 4) increase healthy food availability in work sites, schools, and hospitals. Findings: These data suggest that a taste-engineering frame and contextualized values significantly increase public support for many of the food and beverage policies tested. Conclusions: Applying a taste-engineering frame and/or contextualized values to address obesity advances a population-based policy agenda to counteract the effects of food-industry strategies.

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“…Research in cognitive neuroscience indicates that brain areas associated with emotion are more likely to be activated when individuals are thinking about certain stories versus ostensibly similar ones (Greene, Sommerville, Nystrom, Darley, & Cohen, 2001). Research is needed to identify the narratives that can effectively communicate the complex social determinants of health and optimally trigger positive emotional engagement and support (Lundell, Niederdeppe, & Clarke, 2012). …”

Section: Reducing the Health Effects Of Racism: Minimizing Racism’s Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Racism and Health II

Williams

Mohammed

2013

American Behavioral Scientist

155

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This article reviews the empirical evidence that suggests that there is a solid foundation for more systematic research attention to the ways in which interventions that seek to reduce the multiple dimensions of racism can improve health and reduce disparities in health. First, research reveals that policies and procedures that seek to reduce institutional racism by improving neighborhood and educational quality and enhancing access to additional income, employment opportunities and other desirable resources can improve health. Second, research is reviewed that shows that there is the potential to improve health through interventions that can reduce cultural racism at the societal and individual level. Finally, research is presented that suggests that the adverse consequences of racism on health can be reduced through policies that maximize the health-enhancing capacities of medical care, address the social factors that initiate and sustain risk behaviors and empower individuals and communities to take control of their lives and health. Directions for future research are outlined.

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Exploring Interpretation of Complexity and Typicality in Narratives and Statistical Images about the Social Determinants of Health

Cited by 21 publications

References 45 publications

Narrative Persuasion, Causality, Complex Integration, and Support for Obesity Policy

Narrative Persuasion, Causality, Complex Integration, and Support for Obesity Policy

Increasing public support for food-industry related, obesity prevention policies: The role of a taste-engineering frame and contextualized values

Racism and Health II

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