he Impact of Social Distance and Message Framing on Young Adults’ Response to the Anti-vaping PSAs on Instagram: The Mediating Role of Psychological Reactance

Hahm, Jung Min (Grady Ph.D. Alum) & Han, Jeong-Yeob. (2023, March). “The Impact of Social Distance and Message Framing on Young Adults’ Response to the Anti-vaping PSAs on Instagram: The Mediating Role of Psychological Reactance,” paper to be presented to American Academy of Advertising (AAA) Annual Conference, Denver, CO.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was (a) to investigate the effect of perceived social distance from message source and message frame on psychological reactance, attitude toward vaping cessation, and intention to quit vaping and (b) to investigate the mediating role of psychological reactance and attitude toward vaping cessation on intention to quit vaping. Findings show that message frame did not have a direct effect on attitudinal or behavioral intention change but did have a direct effect on the level of psychological reactance. Perceived social distance from the message source directly and indirectly, through psychological reactance and attitude toward vaping cessation, affected intention to quit vaping. Finally, one week after the experiment, attitude toward vaping cessation and intention to quit vaping did not significantly decrease, indicating that the effect of the message frame and perceived social distance from the message source persisted.