Study finds sympathy most effective in alcohol cancer warning labels
Mar 6th 2026
UConn communication researcher Zexin Ma found that pictorial warning labels that tell a human story and evoke sympathy are more likely to motivate people to cut back or stop drinking than images that mainly provoke disgust or anger, with fear helping in some groups.
- UConn study compared narrative versus nonnarrative pictorial labels about oral, esophageal, and larynx cancers.
- Two samples were used: an online panel of moderate to heavy drinkers aged 21 to 84 and UConn undergraduates aged 21 to 28.
- Narrative images evoked more sympathy and less anger and disgust than nonnarrative images.
- Sympathy was the only emotion that consistently increased intentions to reduce or stop drinking across both samples.
- Fear increased intentions in the older online sample but not among college students, while anger reduced intentions and disgust had no persuasive effect.
- The paper, published in Health Education Research and funded by the National Cancer Institute, recommends designing narrative warnings that elicit sympathy and some fear and rotating messages to avoid wear out.