Mixed Messages: III. Negative Statements Within Emotional Support Messages Are More Memorable Than Positive Statements and Predict Longitudinal Outcomes

Abstract

This study explores the extent to which support recipients recall positive and negative statements within supportive messages and whether recalling positive or negative statements affected perceptions of the supporter and their messages. Three days after receiving supportive messages, recipients recalled a significantly lower proportion of positive statements but approximately the same proportion of negative statements. Support outcomes (i.e., message effectiveness and affective improvement) were affected by the proportion of negative message statements recalled three days after receiving the message but not by the proportion of positive message statements recalled. It appears negative statements may have a lasting effect on support outcomes.

Keywords:

• Cancer
• Emotional Support
• Memory
• Message Valence
• Mixed Messages
• Social Support

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Pia de los Reyes, Nicole Deis, Maxwell Groznik, Carly Heppler, Rebecca James, Nicholas B. Lacy, Courtney Meissner, and Emily Parker for their help with the data collection process.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. By conducting the analyses for H3 and the research question in separate regressions, I can provide a clearer test of both the negativity bias argument (H3) and the positivity bias argument (RQ). When the data was analyzed using hierarchical regressions that included the recall of both positive and negative idea units in the same block, the same pattern of results occurred.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Colter D. Ray

Colter D. Ray (PhD, Arizona State University, 2018) is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Louisiana State University.