Lack of reassurance after unexpected positive health risk feedback – an analysis of temporal dynamics

Abstract

Introduction How do people receive unexpected positive health risk information? While common motivational accounts predict acceptance, consistency accounts such as the cue-adaptive reasoning account (CARA) predict a ‘lack of reassurance’. Objectives We therefore tested (1) whether people prefer striving for positivity or retaining a sense of self-consistency (‘lack of reassurance’), and (2) if there are systematic differences in short- and long-term reception, which would indicate temporal dynamics in processing. Methods As part of a longitudinal cohort study, participants of a community health screening (N = 1,055) received their actual cholesterol readings. Feedback reception was assessed immediately, at one month and six months. Results Processing trajectories for unexpected positive feedback showed a significant ‘lack of reassurance’ effect over time compared with expected positive feedback, while unexpected negative feedback was less threatening than expected negative feedback. Conclusions The perseverance of this ‘lack of reassurance’ over time indicates that striving for consistency in self-views is a robust phenomenon, even if it means forfeiting a better view of one’s own health.

Keywords

• health risk feedback
• risk perception
• risk communication
• expectations
• lack of reassurance