arbiter
JournalsAccount

Words that trigger: a meta-analysis of threatening language, reactance, and persuasion in health

Rong Ma et al.

Journal of Communication2025https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqaf004article
ABDC A
Weight
0.52

Abstract

Psychological reactance theory is an important theoretical framework that explains resistance to persuasive messages. However, research has shown inconsistencies regarding the effects of reactance on persuasion, the operational treatment of reactance, and the manipulation of threatening language. This meta-analysis (k = 35, combined N = 10,658) consolidates findings from research on psychological reactance in health communication regarding the associations between freedom-threatening language, perceived freedom threat, state reactance, and persuasion outcomes, as well as the potential moderating impact of different reactance measures and other outcome- and recipient-related variables. Findings generally align with prior theorizing, with significant heterogeneity across studies. Sample type, age, and participant gender were identified as significant moderators. Moreover, our analysis presents a typology of threatening language features and examines their roles in inducing freedom threat perceptions. The analysis highlights the need for additional work to unravel underlying mechanisms and define the scope of boundary conditions.

7 citations

Open via your library →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqaf004

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{rong2025,
  title        = {{Words that trigger: a meta-analysis of threatening language, reactance, and persuasion in health}},
  author       = {Rong Ma et al.},
  journal      = {Journal of Communication},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqaf004},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Words that trigger: a meta-analysis of threatening language, reactance, and persuasion in health

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.52

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.47 × 0.4 = 0.19
M · momentum0.68 × 0.15 = 0.10
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.