Self-affirmation Decreased Smokers’ Attentional Alertness To Pictures Of Smoking Warnings

Smoking warning pictures are an important propaganda method in the anti-smoking campaign,but whether smoking warning pictures can influence smokers to quit smoking is controversial.There is evidence that images of smoking warnings are a threat stimulus of high personal relevance to smokers,which can reduce smokers’ intention to quit and hinder their ability to quit.The attentional bias of individuals will show attentional alertness in the face of threat stimulus,and attentional alertness will hinder individuals from receiving threat stimulus.Further verification is needed to determine whether smokers have attentional arousal to warning pictures.Reducing smokers’ attention to warning pictures and increasing their intention to quit may help them quit early.One study found that self-affirmation manipulation had a significant effect on smokers’ acceptance of warning messages.Further research is needed to determine whether attentional bias to warning pictures after self-affirmation manipulation can influence smokers’ intention to quit smoking.Therefore,in Experiment1,experimental method was used to verify whether there was attentional alertness in smokers’ smoking warning pictures.In Experiment 2,whether self-affirmation manipulation could influence smokers’ attentional alertness and improve smokers’ willingness to quit smoking was investigated.In the first experiment,61 college students,including 30 smokers and 31non-smokers,were recruited to compare the difference in response time between smoking warning pictures and neutral pictures using the visual spot detection task.The results showed that smokers were more attentional and alert to the pictures of smoking warnings.Experiment 2 recruiting 80 college students smoking in school as the research object,the college students were randomly divided into smoking self-affirmation manipulation group and control group,using visual detection task compared with self-affirmation manipulation group and control group in smoking the pictures and the differences in the reactions in neutral pictures at the same time,through the study of ecological observation compare two groups of participants take laboratory leaflet number of quitting.The results showed that self-affirmation manipulation affected smokers’ attentional bias towards warning pictures and made smokers more attentional avoidance towards warning pictures.The more smokers who avoid smoking,the stronger their willingness to quit.Ecological studies also found that self-affirmation manipulation significantly improved smokers’ behavior in picking up quit flyers.In conclusion,smokers are alert to smoking warning pictures,which affects smokers to quit smoking.Self-affirmation manipulation decreased the attentional alertness of smokers to the warning pictures of smoking and increased smokers’ intention to quit.