Tell me why… The influence of self-involvement on short term smoking behaviour

Previous studies found that information is more persuasive when self-generated (high self-involvement), rather than when simply read or heard (low self-involvement). In two studies, we investigated whether differences in self-involvement concerning smoking issues would influence immediate smoking behaviour. As predicted, results indicate that participants who developed their own arguments against smoking waited longer before lighting up a cigarette than those who read arguments against smoking that were developed by other participants (Study 1). Further, participants who additionally generated their own arguments were less likely to smoke within 30 min than those who read prepared arguments against smoking (Study 2). In sum, our studies illustrate that personal involvement in generating anti-smoking arguments can reduce short term smoking behaviour.