"Tanning Is Bad" Message Can Fall Flat.

• Position: SUNBATHING

Most young women already know that tanning is dangerous but sunbathe anyway, so a campaign informing them of the risk should take into account their potential resistance to the message, advises a study from Ohio State University, Columbus.

Word choice and targeting a specific audience are part of messaging strategy, but there also is psychology at play, researchers say, especially when the message is telling people something they really do not want to hear.

This study was both an application and assessment of the framing theory of persuasive communication, which suggests that the experience of consuming a persuasive message involves a pathway toward being convinced or rejecting the notion of a change in thinking or behavior.

The pathway has three components: availability, or a fixed belief about the topic; accessibility, considering the message easy to process because it draws upon existing knowledge; and applicability, or perceiving the message as relevant.

"Framing theory says we can target specific attitudes and make them more likely to be drawn upon, and if they're more likely to be drawn upon, then they're more likely to be used in making a decision or forming a judgment," says lead author Olivia Bullock, a graduate student in communication.

In health campaigns, there can be a tendency to use technical terms to lend credibility or "heft" to a message, but that can backfire.

"Some people might strategically try to use medical terminology in recognition...