Influence of high versus low readability level of written health information on self-efficacy: A randomized controlled study of the processing fluency effect.

ABSTRACT: We investigated the relationship of processing fluency of written information about exercise to participants' perceived interest, safety, self-efficacy, outcome expectation, and behavioral intention regarding the exercise. We randomly assigned 400 men and women aged 40-69 years to control or intervention conditions. Perceived self-efficacy of performing the exercise in the intervention group (i.e. easy to read) was significantly higher than that in the control group (i.e. difficult to read) (p = 0.04). Easy-to-read written health information may be important not only for making written health information comprehensible but also for increasing readers' self-efficacy for adopting health-related behaviors.

SUBMITTER: Okuhara T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7016314 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan-Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature