When numbers make you feel : impact of round versus precise numbers on preventive health behaviors

Six experiments found that people are more likely to engage in preventive behaviors when they are exposed to preventive messages, which present health-related numerical cues as round numbers (e.g., 15.00%) versus precise numbers (e.g., 15.29%). When participants were exposed to round numbers in pr...

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Main Authors: Wadhwa, Monica, Zhang, Kuangjie
Other Authors: Nanyang Business School
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2020
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/144471
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-1444712023-05-19T07:31:18Z When numbers make you feel : impact of round versus precise numbers on preventive health behaviors Wadhwa, Monica Zhang, Kuangjie Nanyang Business School Business::General Health Decision Making Numbers Six experiments found that people are more likely to engage in preventive behaviors when they are exposed to preventive messages, which present health-related numerical cues as round numbers (e.g., 15.00%) versus precise numbers (e.g., 15.29%). When participants were exposed to round numbers in preventive messages, they indicated a higher intention to get vaccinated against flu, spent longer time flossing their teeth and were more likely to reduce their consumption of unhealthy food, compared with when they were exposed to precise numbers. Providing evidence for an affect-based mechanism, the current research shows that round numbers intensify people’s negative affective reactions toward the health risk, which, in turn, increase their likelihood to engage in preventive behaviors. These findings indicate that presenting health-related numerical cues as round versus precise numbers in preventive messages can have a powerful impact on preventive behaviors. Accepted version 2020-11-06T05:12:20Z 2020-11-06T05:12:20Z 2018 Journal Article Wadhwa, M., & Zhang, K. (2019). When numbers make you feel : impact of round versus precise numbers on preventive health behaviors. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 150, 101-111. doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2018.08.005 0749-5978 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/144471 10.1016/j.obhdp.2018.08.005 150 101 111 en Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. This paper was published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes and is made available with permission of Elsevier Inc. application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider NTU Library
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic Business::General
Health Decision Making
Numbers
spellingShingle Business::General
Health Decision Making
Numbers
Wadhwa, Monica
Zhang, Kuangjie
When numbers make you feel : impact of round versus precise numbers on preventive health behaviors
description Six experiments found that people are more likely to engage in preventive behaviors when they are exposed to preventive messages, which present health-related numerical cues as round numbers (e.g., 15.00%) versus precise numbers (e.g., 15.29%). When participants were exposed to round numbers in preventive messages, they indicated a higher intention to get vaccinated against flu, spent longer time flossing their teeth and were more likely to reduce their consumption of unhealthy food, compared with when they were exposed to precise numbers. Providing evidence for an affect-based mechanism, the current research shows that round numbers intensify people’s negative affective reactions toward the health risk, which, in turn, increase their likelihood to engage in preventive behaviors. These findings indicate that presenting health-related numerical cues as round versus precise numbers in preventive messages can have a powerful impact on preventive behaviors.
author2 Nanyang Business School
author_facet Nanyang Business School
Wadhwa, Monica
Zhang, Kuangjie
format Article
author Wadhwa, Monica
Zhang, Kuangjie
author_sort Wadhwa, Monica
title When numbers make you feel : impact of round versus precise numbers on preventive health behaviors
title_short When numbers make you feel : impact of round versus precise numbers on preventive health behaviors
title_full When numbers make you feel : impact of round versus precise numbers on preventive health behaviors
title_fullStr When numbers make you feel : impact of round versus precise numbers on preventive health behaviors
title_full_unstemmed When numbers make you feel : impact of round versus precise numbers on preventive health behaviors
title_sort when numbers make you feel : impact of round versus precise numbers on preventive health behaviors
publishDate 2020
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/144471
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