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ABSTRACT
The role of counterfactual thinking as an effective antismoking communications strategy is examined. Specifically, this study investigates how various types of counterfactual thoughts, generated in response to a detrimental smoking scenario, impact individuals' affective evaluations of the scenario, as well as their willingness to participate in a smoking-related behavioral test, a lung-capacity test. This is tested in three experiments, which differ in the timing of gathering individuals' willingness to participate in the lung-capacity test. Experiment 1 collected individuals' willingness to participate in the test shortly after the counterfactual task, whereas Experiments 2 and 3 made this assessment 2 and 7 days following the counterfactual task (respectively). The results of all three experiments indicated that although upward counterfactuals had a negative impact on individuals' affective evaluations of the scenario, they had no effect on participants' willingness to schedule a lungcapacity test. Alternatively, additive counterfactuals did have a significant impact on individuals' preparative actions, despite having no influence on their affective evaluations. This effect, however, decreased with time. By demonstrating that counterfactual thinking may significantly influence smoking-related behaviors, this study's findings contribute to and extend prior counterfactual and antismoking research. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, accounting for over 420,000 deaths per year-more than are caused by car accidents, AIDS, heroin, cocaine, alcohol, suicide, and murder combined. Of the more than 3000 individuals who start smoking each day, approximately 80% percent have their first cigarette before age 18. The CDC estimates that if this trend continues, more that 6 million children living today will die prematurely because of a decision they will make as adolescents-the decision to smoke cigarettes (Centers for Disease Control, 2001).
In an effort to curb youth smoking, U.S. federal and state governments are increasingly turning toward mass-media antismoking advertising (CDC, 2001; Pechmann, 2001; Wakefield &Chaloupka, 1999). Although they represent only one aspect in the entire antismoking effort (which additionally encompasses community-based initiatives, school smoking prevention programs, etc.), mass-media campaigns are believed to reach the broadest number of youths, and hence may have the most widespread impact on smoking behavior (CDC, 2001; Wakefield, Flay, Nichter, &Giovino, 2002). A key issue concerning...