Resonance as a Mediating Factor Accounting for the Message Effect in Tailored Communication-Examining Crisis Communication in a Tourism Context

Abstract

The effectiveness of tailored communication in persuading people to adopt healthier behaviors has received much attention in the health communication field recently. However, the exact mechanism responsible for the tailoring effect is unknown. This study proposes that resonance could be an underlying mechanism that accounts for the tailoring effect. To investigate that possibility, resonance, operationalized as involving both cognitive and emotional components, is examined in an experiment to see how it might impact attitude formation and behavioral intention. The results of the investigation revealed that resonance is indeed a strong factor in influencing attitude and behavioral disposition. Future studies should further examine the concept of resonance and its role in explaining persuasive message effects in order to advance our knowledge in human communication.Recent research on risk communication has emphasized the importance of addressing public concerns (Frewer, 2004) or personal needs. Research on risk communication in health as it applies to the prevention of risky behaviors has focused on how tailored communication may enhance the effect of messages in persuading people to take action. Tailored communication refers to the customized, personally relevant information that is designed to target recipients' needs, interests, and considerations (Kreuter, Farrell, Olevitch, & Brennan, 2000). The theoretical reasoning for the generation of tailored communication was that individuals actively participate in the communication process, and they are more likely to be mobilized by information that fits their personal beliefs, or which addresses their personal needs, rather than by generic content produced for a mass audience. However, the question arises as to why messages fulfilling personal expectations or desires at the cognitive level would lead to behavioral changes? The underlying mechanisms that may account for the

Crisis response strategies in Finland and Spain

“…Harro Loit, Vihalemm, and Ugur () note how despite group memberships, individual experiences differ. In addition, Wan () notes the role of resonance for crisis response strategies. Resonance constitutes a cultural powerful object because it gets messages respect the tradition of distinct countries.…”

“…Crisis response strategies that use resonance will get messages more associated with the long‐term memory because this concept is related with individual's values and beliefs. Therefore, crisis messages that resonate with publics are easier to communicate (Wan, ). The cultural context affects how individuals define crisis and how they negotiate situations (Berkelaar & Dutta, ).…”

The impact of food safety events on the value of food-related firms: An event study approach

“…Moreover, a consumer's long-term memory system may influence information processing in response to food crises. Resonance theory (Wan, 2008) contends that people process information through an automatic cognitive procedure when they make an association between a stimulus and their longterm memory. People tend to make an association between a firm and an event more readily when the event occurs repeatedly.…”

The Effects of Cultural Adaptation in Fundraising Letters: The Case of Help-Self and Help-Others Appeals in a Feminine Culture

“…Although this finding supports the general notion of audience adaptation (cf. Chang, 2002;Wan, 2008;Hornikx and O'Keefe, 2009), it should be noted that differences between the culturally adapted and culturally unadapted appeals were not significant for two important outcomes, namely the attitude towards donation, and donation intention. That is, men and women responded more favourably to the culturally adapted appeal, but only on two dependent variables that are, arguably, less directly related to donating than the other two variables.…”

“…Messages expressing personality traits, or values that are congruent with a reader's own personality and values are more likely to be effective than messages with incongruent values (e. g., Chang, 2002;Wan, 2008). A basic tenet in the field of persuasion is to adapt messages to receiver characteristics, such as level of sensation-seeking (Stephenson andSouthwell, 2006), self-construal (Van Baaren andRuivenkamp, 2007), or cultural values (Aaker and Schmitt, 2001).…”