PRACTICE AND PERSUASIVE FRAME - EFFECTS ON BELIEFS, INTENTION, AND PERFORMANCE OF A CANCER SELF-EXAMINATION

Many behaviors are performed less frequently than intended because the y require knowledge and skill to overcome behavioral barriers. This ex periment tested effects of two factors, direct experience and message frame, that were hypothesized to affect men's intention to perform the testicle self-exam for cancer (TSE) and their actual exam performance , in part by affecting their knowledge and beliefs about overcoming TS E performance barriers. Men's experience performing the TSE on a life- like model and the frame (negative, positive, or neutral) of the recom mendation promoting the exam were manipulated factorially. Consistent with prediction, men who practiced (vs. did not practice) the self-exa m: (a) endorsed stronger beliefs about behavior-specific knowledge (e. g., ability to imagine a lump), (b) held more positive intention, and (c) translated that intention more consistently into self-reported act ion, in part because their behavior-specific knowledge increased their tendency to act on their intention. Consistent with action phase theo ry (Gollwitzer, 1990), intention related more strongly to behavior-spe cific beliefs than to general, long-term beliefs, and more strongly th an attitude related to behavior-specific beliefs. These findings have practical and theoretical implications for promoting healthful and oth er intended behaviors.