The Role of Fatigue in a Campus COVID-19 Safety Behaviors Campaign

Message fatigue is the aversive motivational state that results from excessive exposure to campaign messages or similar information over an extended period of time. When fatigued, individuals become less attentive, less responsive, and more resistant to campaign messages and related information. Thus, understanding the bases and functioning of fatigue in persuasive health campaigns has obvious value. Despite considerable interest in this important topic, major questions remain under-studied. One such question hinges on the observation that campaigns are implemented in social systems, not laboratories. Apart from any direct effects that a campaign might produce, there is the potential for secondary exposure via individuals or other media that can yield distinct influences. How do these multiple sources work together to influence fatigue? Second, as explicated, message fatigue is the consequence of repeated exposure to campaign messages over time. With few exceptions, however, fatigue research has employed only cross-sectional designs, which preclude conclusions about the dynamic behavior of fatigue. How does fatigue change over the course of a campaign? Finally, the bases of fatigue are not entirely clear. Whereas fatigue is defined as a subjective judgment of excessive exposure, little is known about the affective processes underlying that judgment. How do emotional responses to a campaign amplify or attenuate fatigue? We examined these questions in the context of a campus COVID-19 safety behaviors campaign.