Positive messaging promotes walking in older adults.
Notthoff N(1), Carstensen LL(1).
Author information:
(1)Department of Psychology.
Walking is among the most cost-effective and accessible means of exercise.
Mounting evidence suggests that walking may help to maintain physical and
cognitive independence in old age by preventing a variety of health problems.
However, older Americans fall far short of meeting the daily recommendations for
walking. In 2 studies, we examined whether considering older adults' preferential
attention to positive information may effectively enhance interventions aimed at
promoting walking. In Study 1, we compared the effectiveness of positive,
negative, and neutral messages to encourage walking (as measured with
pedometers). Older adults who were informed about the benefits of walking walked
more than those who were informed about the negative consequences of failing to
walk, whereas younger adults were unaffected by framing valence. In Study 2, we
examined within-person change in walking in older adults in response to
positively- or negatively-framed messages over a 28-day period. Once again,
positively-framed messages more effectively promoted walking than
negatively-framed messages, and the effect was sustained across the intervention
period. Together, these studies suggest that consideration of age-related changes
in preferences for positive and negative information may inform the design of
effective interventions to promote healthy lifestyles. Future research is needed
to examine the mechanisms underlying the greater effectiveness of positively- as
opposed to negatively-framed messages and the generalizability of findings to
other intervention targets and other subpopulations of older adults.
PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.
PMCID: PMC4069032
PMID: 24956001 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]