We resolve to keep looking—aware of the future challenges, but now, also aware of how we might respond to those challenges, which is certainly apt for applied inoculation theory research.
Josh Compton and Alicia Mason
Inoculation theory has established efficacy with a wide range of issues and across contexts, including politics, health, and commerce. More recently, scholars have extended inoculation into more intrapersonal influences, including perceptions of task self-efficacy and anxiety. This study takes a similar approach, applying inoculation to protect self-generated goals (New Year resolutions) against a range of threats to keeping resolutions. A two-phase experiment assessed inoculation treatments against controls (no message) in an effort to shore up New Year resolutions. Results failed to support inoculation’s efficacy. Inoculation treatment messages generated conventional threat but failed to confer resistance as measured by general attitude, confidence, or intention to uphold the resolution. We discuss possible explanations and pose suggestions for future research.
Compton, J., & Mason, A. (2022, April 9). Inoculating resolve: Inoculation theory messaging to shore up New Year resolutions. Eastern Communication Association, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
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