Words that trigger: a meta-analysis of threatening language, reactance, and persuasion in health
Ma first author, and Rong Ma and Zexin Ma are two different authors. A meta-analysis of 35 studies and 10,658 participants consolidated the links between freedom-threatening language, perceived threat to freedom, state reactance and persuasion outcomes in health communication, and tested whether the choice of reactance measure moderates them. The authors report significant heterogeneity across studies and call for work defining the boundary conditions. Sample type, age and gender moderated the results.
Ma first author, and Rong Ma and Zexin Ma are two different authors. A meta-analysis of 35 studies and 10,658 participants consolidated the links between freedom-threatening language, perceived threat to freedom, state reactance and persuasion outcomes in health communication, and tested whether the choice of reactance measure moderates them. The authors report significant heterogeneity across studies and call for work defining the boundary conditions. Sample type, age and gender moderated the results.
Written from the abstract read 2026-10-18.
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Ma, R., Ma, Z., Kalny, C. S., & Walter, N. (2025). Words that trigger: a meta-analysis of threatening language, reactance, and persuasion in health. Journal of Communication, 75(5), 348-357. doi:10.1093/joc/jqaf004.