Neural bases of goal-frame theory: Assessing the nature and persuasion of normative, hedonic, and gain environmental messages

Managers and policymakers have increasingly adopted the use of communication campaigns to promote environmentally responsible behaviors. Through a wide variety of frames, these campaigns can encourage more sustainable actions from citizens. Goal-frame theory suggests that three primary goals (normative, gain, and hedonic) can promote pro-environmental behavior in different ways when embedded in messages. This paper presents the first controlled experimental study of the processes that govern the activation of these goals and their subsequent impact on the persuasiveness of messages promoting pro-environmental behaviors (e.g., recycling, responsible water consumption, reduced electricity use, and handling of toxic products). The study shows the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the processing of normative, gain, and hedonic messages. It also reveals their comparative persuasiveness, as indicated by activity in the brain regions theoretically linked to persuasion. For the first time in this context, neuroimaging (i.e., fMRI) is used to show that normative messages activate brain regions linked to mentalizing, hedonic messages activate brain regions linked to affect and reward, and gain messages activate brain regions linked to personal gain and value. When comparing these goal frames, fMRI data reveal that normative messages activate brain regions associated with persuasion in prosocial contexts (i.e., moral cognition) more strongly than gain messages, and both elicit greater activation than hedonic messages. However, self-reported data only partially support this pattern. Hedonic messages are perceived as the least persuasive in promoting environmental behaviors, and gain-framed messages are rated as significantly more persuasive than normative messages. These results have important implications for governments and managers, who should design communications that appeal to peer-driven and community-based responsible behaviors. Such an approach could lead to a deeper evaluation of the message’s value and adherence to social norms. • fMRI revealed distinct neural bases for normative, hedonic, and gain-framed messages. • Normative messages activate brain regions linked to moral cognition. • Hedonic messages engage areas related to emotion and reward processing. • Gain messages stimulate neural regions tied to personal value and resources. • Normative messages excel in neural persuasion; gain messages dominate self-reports.