Enhancing the effectiveness of alcohol warning labels with a self-affirming implementation intention

OBJECTIVE: Excess alcohol consumption extorts significant social and economic costs that are increasing despite the presence of mandatory warning labels on packaged alcoholic beverages. We used a novel approach by adding a brief statement based on self-affirmation theory to alcohol warning labels.

METHOD: In two studies (N = 85 and N = 58), we randomized regular wine drinkers recruited from university campuses to complete a wine-pouring task with bottles that had standard labeling or bottles that added a self-affirming implementation intention to the standard labeling. Alcohol consumption, behavioral intention, and self-efficacy were measured premanipulation; message acceptance was measured postmanipulation; and alcohol consumption, behavioral intention, and self-efficacy were measured again at follow-up.

RESULTS: In both studies, the self-affirming implementation intention significantly reduced subsequent alcohol consumption (ds = 0.70 and 0.91, respectively). However, message acceptance, behavioral intention, and self-efficacy did not significantly mediate the observed effects.

CONCLUSIONS: Self-affirming implementation intentions augmented the effect of alcohol warning labels to reduce subsequent alcohol consumption, but-consistent with the broader self-affirmation literature-it was not clear what mediated the effects. Further research is required to examine the effects of self-affirming implementation intentions on other kinds of public health-related labeling. (PsycINFO Database Record