Computer-Tailored Messages

Imagine that a person wants to convince someone to stop smoking or start exercising, select one political candidate or position over another, or purchase a certain product from a particular business. Previous theory and research suggest one good way to increase one's chance of successfully persuading another would be to increase the personal relevance of one's message. For example, if one wants to convince someone to start exercising, one might begin by asking him or her what he or she sees as the biggest benefits (such as weight loss, better health, improved appearance or strength, or decreased stress) and barriers (such as cost, time, being self-conscious about one's appearance, a belief that exercise is boring, or having tried in the past and failed) to exercising. Then, rather than addressing every reason someone may or may not want to exercise to every person one tries to influence, one could customize his or her message to focus on just the motivations that are important to each individual.

Until recently, it was difficult and costly to develop and disseminate customized messages, especially on a large scale. However, recent advances in computer and other communication technologies have made it both possible and practical to create individualized communication via computer-tailored messages. Tailored messages are intended to reach one specific person based on characteristics that are unique to that person. Tailored messages are typically created by asking individuals to answer a series of questions (for example, about their beliefs or behavior) and then using a computer algorithm (a series of instructions or decision rules) to generate messages that are highly customized for each individual. To illustrate, an individual might be asked a series of questions about his or her perceived susceptibility to kidney disease and then receive a computer-tailored message designed to increase only those perceptions that are currently low. The final message can take on a variety of forms (such as letters, pamphlets, or Web pages) and can be delivered through a variety of channels (in the mail, over the Internet, or via telephone—including cell phones, in person, using personal handheld assistants, and so on).

To provide a point of reference, tailored messages are often compared to generic and targeted messages, both of which are still very common but allow for no or very little customization. Generic messages are designed to reach a large number of individuals in the general population but are not customized to any particular subgroup or individual within that population. An example of a generic message would be a kidney disease prevention [Page 177]pamphlet or Web page designed for the general public. At least some of the information in a generic message will likely be relevant to everyone who reads it, but readers will have to search through a lot of potentially irrelevant information to find the facts that are applicable to them.

Targeted messages, on the other hand, are developed for a specific subgroup of the general population whose members are similar on one or more demographic (for example, ethnicity), psycho-graphic (for example, levels of perceived threat or efficacy), or behavioral (for example, stage of change) variables. An example of a targeted message would be a kidney disease prevention pamphlet or Web page designed specifically for Hispanics who are over the age of 40, since this subgroup is at greater risk for kidney disease than members of the general population. Targeted messages are an improvement over generic messages because they take important characteristics of a subgroup into account and use some customization to increase the relevance of the message to individuals within that subgroup. However, targeted messages use a single version of a message to communicate with all members of a subgroup and therefore do not address important factors that likely vary from person to person, a weakness that is exactly what computer-tailored messages are designed to do.

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