Enhancing Preventive Health Risk Behaviors: The Synergistic Effect of Anthropomorphism and Benefit Appeals on Social Media

초록

The growing concern among e-health communication scholars centers on message fatigue associated with preventive health risk (PHR) messaging on social media platforms. While previous research has focused on using benefit appeals to combat this fatigue and reduce perceptions of intrusiveness, the role of social influences, such as anthropomorphism, in shaping individual responses remains underexplored. This study examines how anthropomorphism, functioning as a moral social agent, interacts with self- and other-benefit appeals to influence consumers' PHR behaviors. The findings indicate that self-benefit appeals are more effective when anthropomorphism is absent, whereas the presence of anthropomorphism amplifies the effectiveness of other-benefit appeals. Additionally, perceived intrusiveness is identified as a key mediator in these interactions, providing both theoretical insights and practical recommendations for enhancing e-health communication strategies.

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