Messages can trigger the opposite of their desired effect − but you can avoid communication that backfires

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Sherry Seethaler, University of California, San Diego

(THE CONVERSATION) The best graduation speeches dispense wisdom you find yourself returning to long after the graduation tassels are turned. Take the feel-good life advice in Baz Luhrmann’s song to a class that graduated 25 years ago. Only on a recent relisten did I realize it also captures one of the research-based strategies I teach for avoiding communication that backfires.

The tip is hiding in plain sight in the song’s title, “Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen).” Communication aimed at promoting a certain behavior can have the opposite effect when the message is perceived as a threat to individual autonomy.

Health campaigns frequently use strongly worded messages that end up backfiring. For example, strongly worded messages promoting dental flossing made people angry and more likely to resist flossing their teeth. Coercive alcohol prevention messages, with language like “any reasonable person must acknowledge these conclusions,” instead increased alcohol consumption. In contrast, the wording of the title “Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen)” is less likely...