Promoting COVID-19 Vaccination: The Interplay of Message Framing, Psychological Uncertainty, and Public Agency as a Message Source

Abstract

The study examines how framing, psychological uncertainty, and agency type influence campaign effectiveness in promoting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. A 2 (gain vs. loss frame) × 2 (high vs. low uncertainty) × 2 (national vs. local agency) between-subjects experiment was conducted among Houston residents ( N = 382). Findings revealed that a loss frame was more effective among participants primed with high uncertainty through a thought-listing task; however, it was less persuasive under conditions of low uncertainty due to increased psychological reactance. Moreover, there was an interaction effect between uncertainty and agency type on vaccine beliefs. The study contributes to the framing literature by identifying psychological uncertainty as a moderator and provides useful suggestions for vaccine message design.

Positive Attribute Framing Increases COVID-19 Booster Vaccine Intention for Unfamiliar Vaccines

“…The handful of studies examining framing on COVID-19 vaccine intention have produced mixed results [16][17][18][19]. However, those studies focused on vaccine-naïve individuals, did not employ attribute framing, and did not concern booster intentions.…”

“…However, those studies focused on vaccine-naïve individuals, did not employ attribute framing, and did not concern booster intentions. Further, those studies also either used fictitious COVID-19 vaccines [16,17] or did not name specific approved COVID-19 vaccines [18,19]. As such, participants either had limited knowledge of, or investment in, the framed vaccines.…”

Narrative communication regarding the Covid-19 vaccine: a thematic analysis of comments on Romanian official Facebook page “RO Vaccinare”

“…In the vaccination context, recent studies highlights the discourses focused on “gain frames” versus those focused on “loss frames,” arguing that individuals’ attention is increased in cases where the negative consequences, losses of an action, or lack thereof are mentioned in particular (Unkelbach et al 2020 ). Other authors also add the variable related to psychological uncertainty (Huang and Liu 2021 ) as a suggestive predictor, explaining that the loss frame works better in conditions of high uncertainty. Sociologists might ask to what extent the uncertainty component is actually as inward as described in the study.…”

Positive attribute framing increases COVID-19 booster vaccine intention for unfamiliar vaccines

“…However, those studies focused on vaccine-naïve individuals, did not employ attribute framing, and did not concern booster intentions. Further, those studies also either used fictitious COVID-19 vaccines 17,18 or did not name specific approved COVID-19 vaccines 19 . As such, participants either had limited knowledge of, or investment in, the framed vaccines.…”

“…The handful of studies examining framing on COVID-19 vaccine intention have produced mixed results [17][18][19] . However, those studies focused on vaccine-naïve individuals, did not employ attribute framing, and did not concern booster intentions.…”