Feeling Inspired and Nostalgic: Associations between Media Context-Induced Positive Emotions and Behavioral Change among Vaccine-hesitant Individuals in the Late Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Duong, Hue Trong ; Yachin, Mor ; Massey, Zachary
Citations
Abstract
Campaigns to promote the COVID-19 vaccination messages to vaccine-hesitant consumers in the late stages of the pandemic are often met with resistance. This study explores a way to leverage positive emotions induced from entertainment media consumption to promote vaccination messages to this audience group. An online experiment was conducted with vaccine-hesitant consumers (N = 409). Participants viewed personally relevant entertainment music videos or mundane videos and vaccinated messages embedded in user-generated comments. Data revealed that feelings of inspiration and nostalgia induced from entertainment media consumption increased vaccination intentions via increased risk perceptions and reduced anti-vaccination attitudes. Social marketers should consider leveraging the combined effect of entertainment media-induced positive emotions and user-generated comments to motivate behavioral change among vaccine-hesitant individuals in the late stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study adds to social marketing literature by showing mechanisms that positive emotions induced from entertainment social media consumption might lead to health behavioral change.
