Motivating Community Attendance: The Role of Self-Determination Theory and Message Framing, with Moderating Effects of Organizational Credibility and Community Attachment

<p>A two-part, mixed methods study explored the impacts of motivational messages on a parents’ intention for their family to attend a hypothetical community Snow Day event hosted by the local County parks and recreation division. Grounded in self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), message frame theory (Rothman & Salovey, 1997), community attachment theory (Kasarda & Janowitz, 1974), and organizational credibility the study examined these factors and their impacts on behavioral intention. In Study One, two focus groups assessed parents’ perceptions of credibility of a local government agency hosting the event, as well as perceptions of the flyer advertising the event. Findings revealed that perceptions of organizational credibility for a local government agency are similar to a private company, social norms played a crucial role in decision making, and the organizations’ reputation was relied upon for determining if further research is necessary.</p> <p>Study Two Part One was a pilot test of the messages to ensure that the six message conditions were received by participants (autonomy-gain, competence-gain, relatedness-gain, autonomy-loss, competence-loss, relatedness-loss). Study Two Part Two was a between-subjects experiment where participants saw one of the six message conditions along with the flyer motivating them to attend the event. The results indicated that participants were unable to recognize message conditions, and the results of the hypotheses were unsupported. However, findings show that past behavior, trust in local government, and community attachment all significantly predict a parents’ intention to attend the event. The study’s limitations and future directions are discussed.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Health and Strategic Communication

Year

2025

Author dc:creator

• Batson-Bright, April

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Sara LaBelle
• Dr. Keith Weber
• Dr. Mark Hopson
• Dr. Keith Fulthorp

• community participation
• community attachment
• self-determination theory
• message frame theory
• behavioral intention
• Communication

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/communication_dissertations/13

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.chapman.edu:communication_dissertations-1012