2. Good news-bad news

3. Traditional public health efforts to change unhealthy behaviors have been largely educational in nature.

(Source: Skin Cancer Foundation)

4. Some campaigns have been based on fear.

A. The problem with fear appeals.

B. "We need to scare people into their wits, not out of them." Michael Osterholm (Center for Infectious Disease Research), on preparing the public for a possible flu pandemic.

4. PMT is one model that explains why people engage in unhealthy practices and offers suggestions for changing those behaviors. It is educational and motivational.

Primary prevention: taking measures to combat the risk of developing a health problem (e.g., controlling weight to prevent high blood pressure).

Secondary prevention: taking steps to prevent a condition from becoming worse (e.g., remembering to take daily medication to control blood pressure).

5. Overview of PMT

(Sources: Fry & Prentice-Dunn, 2005, 2006; Rogers & Prentice-Dunn, 1997)

A. Sources of information, cognitive mediating processes, and coping modes

B. More detail on the cognitive mediating processes

Threat Appraisal

(1) Severity: Degree of harm from the unhealthy behavior

(2) Vulnerability: Probability that you personally will experience harm

(3) Rewards: Positive aspects of starting or continuing the unhealthy behavior (e.g., physical pleasure, peer approval)

*** The amount of threat experienced is a combination of severity and vulnerability, minus the rewards

Coping Appraisal

(1) Response efficacy: Effectiveness of the recommended behavior in removing or preventing possible harm

(2) Self-Efficacy: Belief that one can successfully enact the recommended behavior

(3) Response costs: Costs associated with the recommended behavior (e.g., monetary expense, physical withdrawal, inconvenience)

*** The amount of coping ability experienced is a combination of response efficacy and self-efficacy, minus response costs

C. Threat and coping appraisal variables combine in a fairly straightforward way, although the relative emphasis may vary from topic to topic and with target population.

Examples:

Skin cancer prevention--maladaptive rewards; BSE-- vulnerability.

Older adults--self-efficacy; adolescents--vulnerability.

6. PMT variables affect the maladaptive and adaptive coping modes that people use ( Fry & Prentice-Dunn, 2005, 2006; McMath & Prentice-Dunn, 2005, 2007). Threat energizes a response, but coping appraisal directs the response toward the adaptive.

7. Meta-analysis of PMT (Floyd, Prentice-Dunn, & Rogers, 2000)

A. 65 studies, almost 30,000 participants

B. Topics investigated

C. Average effect size (d) is about .50.

PMT Variable	N	N-i	d
Threat vulnerability	25	6029	+0.41
Threat severity	21	3356	+0.39
Rewards	6	2756	+0.39
Vulnerability & severity	15	16,923	+0.54
Response efficacy (RE)	36	7086	+0.54
Self-efficacy (SE)	41	7666	+0.88
Response costs	15	3963	+0.52
RE & SE	7	643	+0.41

Note: N = the number of studies and N-i = the number of individual participants. d = Cohen's d, a measure of effect size expressed in standard deviation units.

D. Intentions: d = .70. Behavior: d = .50

E. Similar results were found in a meta-analysis conducted by Milne et al. (2000).

8. Recent PMT studies have involved 1-3 hr interventions instead of ads and other types of brief exposure.

9. McClendon & Prentice-Dunn (2001): PMT and skin cancer risk

A. Summarize the intervention used in the study.

B. Summarize the results of the study and its limitations.

A. Summarize the intervention used in the study.

B. Summarize the results of the study and its limitations.