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Blog 2: Use values (not facts) to persuade

13 Feb 2020
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Healthy persuasion
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Changing the way Australians think about healthy living has more to do with tapping into their personal values than it does with presenting them with well-researched facts and figures.

It's safe to say we make at least 90 per cent of our decisions subconsciously – but here's the catch: most of us wouldn't think so, because if we're asked to justify our decisions, we automatically 'post-rationalise' our decisions using conscious reasoning. We may be able to trick ourselves and others with this quick-thinking, but that doesn't change the fact that less than 10 per cent of our thought processes involve conscious reasoning in the first place.

So, while we all like to think of ourselves as rational, the reality is that most of the decisions we make on a daily basis are determined by how we feel about the different options before us. It’s only after we’ve made our decisions that our conscious brain snaps into gear to post-rationalise those choices.

That’s why health promotion messaging focused on facts and figures rarely works. It appeals to the head, when the reality is that it’s our heart calling most of the shots.

a couple are both hugging their children. Tip number two: use values (not facts) to persuade. Shift away from facts to value based messaging.
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So how do we speak to people’s hearts?

Research shows appealing to people’s deeply held values can shift their attitudes and behaviours by changing the way they feel about the issue in question.

In research conducted by Common Cause Australia and VicHealth, we found the most effective messages for health promotion were those that appealed strongly to people’s values.

Over the course of 12 months, we conducted a series of online surveys among nationally representative audiences to test a range of health promotion messages. We wanted to understand how best to grow support for evidence-based health promotion policies and programs.

Not only did we find that values-based messaging was the most effective way of building support for health promotion, but that some values worked better than others.

Whether we were talking about health promotion generally or healthy eating and alcohol policy specifically, the values of honestyequality and social justice consistently performed well in our testing.

For example, in one of our tests we played a series of audio-recorded messages about health promotion to a panel of over 1,200 people that allowed us to measure their responses on a second-by-second basis. The message that performed best in this test framed health promotion as vital to reducing unequal health outcomes between richer and poorer members of society.

Of course, facts and figures are still important. The key is to use them within the context of values-based messages that tell people not only what they should know, but why they should care.

Here are some examples of what that shift looks like in practice:

From: “On average, poorer suburbs contain 20 per cent more fast food outlets than wealthier suburbs.”

To: “It’s unethical for companies to target poorer communities with their fast food outlets.”

 

From: “We need more accurate labelling of processed foods.”

To: “We need more honest labelling of processed foods.”

 

From: “Only 1 in 3 suburbs have adequate walking and cycling paths for residents to use.”

To: “No matter where you live, everyone should have access to safe walking and cycling paths to get around.”


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Want more information?

Visit Common Cause Australia to find out more about their work and the concept behind values-based messaging.

Contact Mark Chenery at Common Cause if you have further questions about this work.


Artwork by Dexx (Gunditjmara/Boon Wurrung) ‘Mobs Coming Together’ 2022
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Artwork Credit: Dexx (Gunditjmara/Boon Wurrung) ‘Mobs Coming Together’ 2022, acrylic on canvas. Learn more about this artwork.