Can Exposure to Brief Messages Correct Misperceptions?

This study seeks to assess the efficacy of educational messages to correct misperceptions. A large proportion of the American population incorrectly believes that nicotine is the chemical responsible for causing cancer in tobacco products.1-3 This misconception may reduce the likelihood that established smokers who are unwilling or unable to quit tobacco product use completely will switch to less harmful non-combustible products. An online experiment will be used to test if corrective messages can reduce this misperception. The experiment will also test the effects of messages on beliefs about the relative harms of other tobacco products discussed in the message and accuracy of inferential beliefs. This will be accomplished by asking participants questions about two tobacco products that are not explicitly discussed in the messages. The experiment will test if the two components of "narrative coherence," a concept identified in previous reviews of misperception correction as effective,4-6 is effective at reducing misperceptions about nicotine. Component 1 provides an explanation for why the new information is correct and component 2 provides an explanation for how the false information came to be believed. This study will use a factorial design to test the efficacy of the component of coherence individually as well as together. Hypotheses and Research Questions:

RQ1: Will participants exposed to different corrective message conditions differ in increased accuracy of beliefs (a) that nicotine does not cause cancer, (b) regarding the relative risk of e-cigarettes compared to cigarettes, (c) regarding the relative risk of very low nicotine cigarettes (VLNC) compared to cigarettes and (d) regarding the relative risk of nicotine replacement therapy compared to cigarettes.

H1: Participants exposed to the nicotine corrective message with both components of coherence will be significantly more likely to increase accuracy of beliefs regarding the relative harms of (a) smokeless tobacco compared to cigarettes and (b) cigarillos relative to cigarettes compared to those exposed to messages with just one component or no components of coherence.

H2: Participants exposed to the nicotine corrective message with both components of coherence will be significantly more likely to increase their intention to switch completely to a noncombustible product compared to those exposed to messages with just one component or no components of coherence.