Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2012, 9(6), 2121-2133; doi:10.3390/ijerph9062121
Review

Gain-Framed Messages Do Not Motivate Sun Protection: A Meta-Analytic Review of Randomized Trials Comparing Gain-Framed and Loss-Framed Appeals for Promoting Skin Cancer Prevention

Daniel J. O’Keefe* email and Daisy Wuemail
Department of Communication Studies, Northwestern University, 2040 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 18 April 2012; in revised form: 30 May 2012 / Accepted: 30 May 2012 / Published: 5 June 2012
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sunbathing Habits and Skin Cancer)
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Abstract: Persuading people to undertake actions to prevent skin cancer is an important public health challenge. A number of studies have compared the effectiveness of gain-framed and loss-framed appeals in this domain, often expecting gain-framed appeals to be more persuasive. A meta-analytic review (k = 33, N = 4,168), however, finds no significant difference in the persuasiveness of gain- and loss-framed appeals for encouraging skin cancer prevention. This conclusion is unaffected by differences in the specific protective action advocated or by differences in the kind of outcomes invoked. But the results offer an intimation that men might be more susceptible to framing variations in this domain—with loss-framed appeals potentially having a persuasive advantage.
Keywords: skin cancer prevention; message framing; gain-framed; loss-framed; persuasive messages; meta-analysis

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

O’Keefe, D.J.; Wu, D. Gain-Framed Messages Do Not Motivate Sun Protection: A Meta-Analytic Review of Randomized Trials Comparing Gain-Framed and Loss-Framed Appeals for Promoting Skin Cancer Prevention. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2012, 9, 2121-2133.

AMA Style

O’Keefe DJ, Wu D. Gain-Framed Messages Do Not Motivate Sun Protection: A Meta-Analytic Review of Randomized Trials Comparing Gain-Framed and Loss-Framed Appeals for Promoting Skin Cancer Prevention. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2012; 9(6):2121-2133.

Chicago/Turabian Style

O’Keefe, Daniel J.; Wu, Daisy. 2012. "Gain-Framed Messages Do Not Motivate Sun Protection: A Meta-Analytic Review of Randomized Trials Comparing Gain-Framed and Loss-Framed Appeals for Promoting Skin Cancer Prevention." Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 9, no. 6: 2121-2133.

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