Attention processes for threatening health information: a neuroscientific approach

Threatening health information has the goal to encourage and motivate people to engage in health promoting and disease preventive behaviours and thus reduce health problems and costs in our society. Evidence shows however that threatening health information often fails to bring about a successful behavioural change. Although the frequently used method of health threat information is assumed to lead to more systematic processing of information containing recommended actions, empirical findings have detected defensive responses towards the health threat information itself, especially among those for whom the health threat is high as opposed to low self-relevant. The present chapter provides insights in the ways people process (self-relevant) threatening health information by studying attention allocation processes during message exposure. Measuring attention processes for health education messages is crucial because attention for the health message is a prerequisite for effective health education. We used measures of EEG, eye movements and reaction times to measure attention processes non-invasively and objectively during message processing. In three empirical studies that will be reported and discussed supported the hypothesis that threatening health information can cause defensive reactions, especially when the information is self-relevant. The integration of neuroscience in health psychology led to a more complete understanding of the underlying attention processes for threatening health information by providing evidence that defensive responses are already present in the very early stages of information processing, at the basic level of attention allocation. It is concluded that communicating selfrelevant information and coping information, instead of threatening health information, are promising strategies to increase attention from the reader for the health information.