title: Why are Tailored Messages More Effective? A Multiple Mediation Analysis of a Breast Cancer Screening Intervention.
abstract: Past research has found that tailoring increases the persuasive effectiveness of a message. However, the observed effect has been small and the explanatory mechanism remains unknown. To address these shortcomings, a tailoring software program was created that personalized breast cancer screening pamphlets according to risk, health belief model constructs, and visual preference. Women aged 40 and older (N= 119) participated in a 2 (tailored vs. stock message) × 2 (charts/graphs vs. illustrated visuals) × 3 (nested replications of the visuals) experiment. Participants provided with tailored illustrated pamphlets expressed greater breast cancer screening intentions than those provided with other pamphlets. In a test of 10 different mediators, perceived message relevance was found to fully mediate the tailoring × visual interaction.
authors.affiliation: (University of Illinois, 2007) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Utah jointly appointed in the Departments of Communication and Health Promotion & Education.
authors.forename: Jakob D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.affiliation: Doctoral candidate in the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University.
authors.forename: Andy J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: King
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Missouri State University.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Carcioppolo
authors.affiliation: Post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Internal Medicine at Washington University.
authors.forename: LaShara
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Davis
keywords: Tailoring; cancer; elaboration likelihood model; perceived message relevance; visuals