The Impact of Terminology in Persuasive Messaging: An Evaluation of the EQUIP Model, Vested Interest and Terminological Variations on Young Adult ENDS Prevention Efforts

<p>Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), frequently referred to as “e-cigarettes” or “vapes,” have become a significant area of concern for substance use prevention and intervention research. National studies have reported significant year-over-year usage rate increases in adolescent and young adult populations. With this rise, new prevention and education campaigns have been launched on the national and state levels aimed at curbing the increase in use. These campaigns range from short videos on social media to educational talks, full video clips, and commercials on television and YouTube. Past research has shown that these types of national and state level campaigns often are ineffective as the campaigns frequently do not apply theory and best practices drawn from persuasion research. In addition, there is increasing evidence that previous estimates of use rates in young adult populations may not be accurate due to the types of questions used in national surveys. The current studies were designed to examine how language variations in surveys may account for some of these discrepancies in measurement, to learn how matching target audience terminology may improve the effectiveness of persuasive messages, and to test the efficacy of a new model for the efficient and effective creation of persuasive messages, the EQUIP model. This model, created by Crano and colleagues (2019), combines key elements and findings from the past 80 years of persuasion research into a series of steps for creating effective persuasive messages and advertisements. In addition, this series of studies will measure vested interest to test how the hedonic relevance and perceived importance of outcomes presented in persuasive messages significantly moderate the attitude-intention-behavior relationship (Ajzen, 1985, 1991; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1972). Study 1 (N =307) investigates how preferred terminology (e-cigarette vs. vaping language) may be associated with self-reported measures of ENDS use, important others’ use, and several key psychosocial measures (attitudes, normative beliefs, intentions, and vested interest) while also serving as a trial for an ELM-based manipulation to establish preferred terminology and randomize participants into incongruent or congruent terminology conditions. Study 2 (N = 642) expands on the findings of study 1 by testing the efficacy of the EQUIP model by comparing advertisements built with the EQUIP to existing ads while examining differences based on incongruent vs. congruent terminology (E-cig vs. Vape), usage status of the participants, and the potential moderating effects of vested interest and user-status based on the tripartite model (Crano et al., 2008). This series of studies is designed to test the efficacy of the EQUIP model in a young adult population, while also demonstrating the importance of tailoring message content (terminology and persuasive arguments) to the target audience. Findings supported the importance of language congruence in persuasive prevention communications, with main effects of the congruent/incongruent language manipulation and advertisement condition (EQUIP vs. Standard FDA messages) across multiple psychosocial variables, along with significant interactions of language condition, advertisement condition, and tripartite user-status, supporting the efficacy of the language manipulation and how persuasive prevention communications may be improved by following the EQUIP model and tailoring the terminology used to match the target population.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Psychology, PhD

Level thesis:degree_level

Restricted to Claremont Colleges Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

School of Social Science, Politics, and Evaluation

Year dc:date.available

2025

Author dc:creator

• Lebsack-Coleman, Michael

Contributors dc:contributor

• Eusebio Alvaro
• Jason Siegel
• Antonis Gardikiotis

• Drug Prevention
• Persuasion
• Social Psychology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/941

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarship.claremont.edu:cgu_etd-1963