ArticleHuman communication research2019
When Similarity Strikes Back: Conditional Persuasive Effects of Character-Audience Similarity in Anti-Smoking Campaign.
Article in Human communication research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Health Messaging Strategies for Vaping Prevention and Cessation Among Youth and Young Adults: A Systematic Review.Health communication · 2025Pooled it
- Tailoring e-Cigarette Health Messages by Vaping Status: How Source and Message Presentation Type Shape Young Adults' Perceptions.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2026Trial
- "It Happened to Me and It's Serious": Conditional Indirect Effects of Infection Severity Narrated in Testimonial Tweets on COVID-19 Prevention.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Trial
- Optimizing Testimonials for Behavior Change in a Digital Intervention for Binge Eating: Human-Centered Design Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Toward a Recipe for Deep versus Surface Level Tailoring: Mixed-Methods Validation of Message Features to Reduce Sugary Beverage Consumption.Journal of health communication · 2022Article
- Protocol: Effectiveness of message content and format on individual and collective efficacy in reducing the intention to consume sugar-sweetened beverages.Contemporary clinical trials · 2022Article
- The Third Rail of Pediatric Communication: Discussing Firearm Risk and Safety in Well-Child Exams.Health communication · 2021Article
- Narrative Voice Matters! Improving Smoking Prevention with Testimonial Messages through Identification and Cognitive Processes.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Featuring an exemplar character similar to the target audience is one of the most widely used tactics of tailored and targeted communication. Having a similar character may increase the perceived relevance of the message and facilitate persuasion. However, the way the similar character is depicted may threaten the audience's social identity and cause a boomerang effect. In an experiment where daily smokers saw and evaluated anti-smoking messages, a significant interaction between character-audience similarity and message theme emerged, mediated by message engagement and character identification. Seeing a similar (vs. dissimilar) smoker character whose health was at risk increased the audience's identification with the character, which in turn was associated with greater perceived effectiveness. However, seeing a similar smoker character endangering innocent others via secondhand smoke undermined perceived effectiveness. The simple main effects of character-audience similarity on message engagement were not significant, although the overall pattern was consistent.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.