Corrections for Health Wish Rumors Under Fear Appeals: Evidence from Behavioral and Eye-Tracking Studies

doi:10.12139/j.1672-0628.2025.06.012

Abstract

Abstract: Health wish rumors mislead individuals by providing false health improvement solutions, inducing unrealistic expectations, and fostering trust in related products. Despite corrective interventions, the continued influence effect (CIE) of such misinformation may persist in the context of fear appeals. To address this issue, this study employed behavioral experiments and eye-tracking techniques to examine the effectiveness of multiple correction methods (efficacy degradation, detailed explanation, and combined correction; Experiment 1) and the eye movement characteristics of efficacy degradation (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 revealed that under fear appeals, health wish rumors exhibit CIE, also increasing the purchase intention for related products. Efficacy degradation, detailed explanation, and combined correction were identified as effective intervention strategies for addressing the CIE of health wish rumors within fear appeal contexts, with no significant differences in effectiveness between efficacy degradation and combined correction. Experiment 2 demonstrated that, compared to simple negation, efficacy degradation enhances the integration of corrective information and reduces cognitive load during the encoding and retrieval stages of corrective information processing. This study provides a theoretical foundation for mitigating the CIE of health wish rumors in fear appeal contexts and offers practical implications for public health rumors debunking.

Key words: health wish rumors, fear appeals, continued influence effect(CIE), corrections, eye-tracking

摘要： 希望类健康错误信息通过提供虚假健康改善方案，诱导个体形成不真实的期待，并对相关产品产生信任。即使通过更正信息进行干预，此类错误信息的持续影响效应(CIE)在恐惧诉求背景下依然可能存在。针对这一问题，本研究通过行为实验和眼动追踪技术，考察多更正方法(效能贬损、详细解释和组合更正)的干预效果(实验1)及效能贬损的眼动特征(实验2)。实验1发现恐惧诉求下希望类健康错误信息存在CIE、恐惧诉求提升对相关产品的购买意愿；效能贬损、详细解释、组合更正是恐惧诉求下希望类健康错误信息的有效干预策略，其中效能贬损在更正效果上与组合更正无显著差异。实验2发现，与简单否定相比，效能贬损可以促进对更正信息的整合、降低更正信息编码及提取阶段的认知负荷。本研究为干预恐惧诉求下希望类健康错误信息CIE提供了理论依据，并为公共健康辟谣工作提供了实践依据。

关键词: 希望类健康错误信息, 恐惧诉求, 持续影响效应(CIE), 更正, 眼动追踪

CLC Number:

B849

WANG Xuying, SHAO Yang, YIN Xiaojuan, JIN Xiaokang, JIN Hua. Corrections for Health Wish Rumors Under Fear Appeals: Evidence from Behavioral and Eye-Tracking Studies[J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2025, 23(6): 813-821.

王旭瑛, 邵杨, 阴晓娟, 金晓康, 金花. 恐惧诉求下希望类健康错误信息的更正：来自行为和眼动的证据[J]. 心理与行为研究, 2025, 23(6): 813-821.

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