When scary messages backfire: Influence of dispositional cognitive avoidance on the effectiveness of threat communications

We examined whether individual differences in cognitive avoidance influence the effectiveness of threat communications in changing attitudes and intentions regarding health-promoting behaviors. Two-hundred ninety-seven participants completed a measure of dispositional cognitive avoidance and read either a high or a low threat communication. We found that after a high threat message, low cognitive avoiders reported more favorable attitudes toward and intentions to adopt the action recommendation than high cognitive avoiders. The recommended response was appraised more positively by high cognitive avoiders after the low threat message than after the high threat message. Exactly the opposite pattern of results was found for low cognitive avoiders. In sum, individual differences in cognitive avoidance are an important moderator of the effectiveness of threat communications.