The effect of role sets and indirectness on the perceived face threat and perceived persuasiveness of anti-obesity messages (2006)

Anti-obesity campaigning has taken a turn from merely informing about what is healthy to warning and criticizing what is not. This provides a new challenge for public health information: how can the level of face threat caused by an anti-obesity message be reduced and subsequently, how can the perceived persuasiveness be increased?

The outcome of the studies described in this article show that perceived face threat and perceived persuasiveness have a strong negative relationship. It argues that the use of indirectness and role sets can reduce the perceived face threat, and that the doctor-patient role set combined with indirectness is most effective in reducing the face threat of either warning about the dangers of being obese or criticizing behavior believed to cause obesity.