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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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 |
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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 |
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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. |
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Nanyang Business School |
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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 |
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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 |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10356/144471 |
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1772827555561209856 |