Loss framing increases entity theorists’ vaccine uptake

Abstract

Although vaccination is an effective way to protect individuals against contagious diseases (e.g., COVID-19 and influenza), vaccine hesitancy remains widespread. This research seeks to understand why some individuals are hesitant to be vaccinated and proposes communication strategies to increase their vaccine uptake. Specifically, we examine how individuals’ implicit theory orientation (entity vs. incremental) drives their vaccine hesitancy and how different message framing techniques (gain vs. loss) can mitigate this tendency and increase vaccine uptake. Across six studies (N = 2,773, among which three studies were pre-registered), we demonstrate that entity (vs. incremental) theorists exhibit lower intentions for vaccination against various contagious diseases. Moreover, entity theorists’ vaccination intentions were higher when framing the consequences of not getting vaccinated as a loss than framing the benefits of getting vaccinated as a gain. In contrast, message framing does not affect incremental theorists’ intentions for vaccination. In conclusion, this research enhances our understanding of factors influencing vaccine uptake, sheds light on the interaction between implicit theory orientation and message framing in the context of infectious diseases and offers practical communication strategies for health officials and policymakers to address vaccine hesitancy.