Not a Problem: A Downside of Humorous Appeals Journal Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • Public service announcements (PSAs) are traditionally designed to elicit negative emotions that spur problem-solving behavior. However, in order to improve their reach, some social marketers are forgoing traditional strategy by creating PSAs that are humorous. Because of humor's positivity and association with non-serious situations, we hypothesized that humorous appeals can decrease problem perception and problemsolving behavior. Study 1 examined problem perceptions using matched pairs of humorous and non-humorous PSAs. Respondents judged a social issue as less important to solve after viewing the humorous version of the pair. Study 2 examined problem-solving behavior through a partnership with a non-profit organization seeking to improve young adults' sexual health knowledge. Humorous PSAs were less effective than a non-humorous version at spurring people to search for health information. The inquiry revealed a previously unaddressed tradeoff: using humor to benefit a message's reach creates a potential cost to solving a personal or societal problem.

publication date

  • October 21, 2015

has restriction

  • closed

Date in CU Experts

  • January 11, 2017 7:45 AM

Full Author List

  • Peter McGraw A; Schiro JL; Fernbach PM

author count

  • 3

Other Profiles

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 2326-568X

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 2326-5698

Additional Document Info

start page

  • 187

end page

  • 208

volume

  • 1

issue

  • 2