Research on gender identity cues in breast cancer communications uncovers surprising new insights into women’s perceived vulnerability to the disease
INSEAD, the leading international business school, in partnership with London Business School and Rotterdam School of Management, have issued new research on how women perceive breast cancer communications. Such communications often feature cues that refer to a woman’s gender identity, such as pink backgrounds, pink ribbons, or simply other women. The study found that the presence of such gender cues can be counterproductive to the key goals of breast cancer awareness campaigns.
Steven Sweldens, Assistant Professor of Marketing at INSEAD, Stefano Puntoni, Associate Professor of Marketing at the Rotterdam School of Management, and Nader Tavassoli, Chaired Professor of Marketing at London Business School, conducted a series of experiments to determine the impact of women’s exposure to breast cancer communications in situations where their gender was either especially salient or not.
‘Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death and alerting women to their vulnerability will be critical for governments and charities around the world,’ said Professor Sweldens of INSEAD. ‘Our research shows that breast cancer communications that feature prominent gender cues activate a defensive “it cannot happen to me” reaction in women.’
Professor Puntoni of Rotterdam School of Management added: ‘These defensive mechanisms interfere with key objectives of breast cancer campaigns. For example, they lower women’s perceived vulnerability to breast cancer, reduce their donations to ovarian cancer research, make breast cancer advertisements more difficult to process, and decrease memory for breast cancer advertisements.’
‘Our findings run counter to the prevailing beliefs in the advertising industry,’ said Professor Tavassoli of London Business School. ‘Breast cancer campaigns should avoid using gender cues such as images of a woman covering her breast. They are also less effective when placed in media contexts that make women reflect on their own gender, such as websites or tv channels devoted to more feminine topics. Communications boosting women’s sense of self worth can help to overcome the defensive reactions and increase the effectiveness of breast cancer campaigns.’
‘Gender Identity Salience and Perceived Vulnerability to Breast Cancer’ is featured in the June 2011 issue of the Journal of Marketing Research.
