본 연구는 어떤 유형의 해로운 행동의 부정적인 결과를 묘사하는 마케팅 메시지가 해당 메시지의 타겟층이 아닌 사람들에게 노출되는 경우, 오히려 전반적인 위험행동의 지각된 위험을 낮추고 위험한 행동에 대한 의도를 높이는 역설적인 결과를 가져올 수 있다고 제안한다. 구체적으로 본 연구는 흡연의 악영향을 전달하는 금연 캠페인 메시지에 노출된 후, 비흡연자들은 금연 광고에 나타난 건강 상의 문제를 겪을 가능성을 낮게 인식하게 되고 이로 인해 스스로 충분히 건강하다는 확신을 증가시킬 수 있다. 따라서, 이러한 인식은 건강에 해로운 다른 행동에 대해서도 위험을 낮게 인식하거나 수용 가능한 것으로 생각하게 만들 수 있으며, 해당 행동에 대한 의도를 오히려 높일 수 있다. 본 연구는 세 번의 행동실험 연구를 통하여, 금연 공익광고 메시지에 노출된 이후의 흡연자와 비흡연자의 위험행동에 대한 의도를 조사하여, 이러한 메시지에 노출되는 경우 비흡연자가 흡연자에 비하여 위험행동에 참여하는 경향이 높다는 것을 검증하였다.

This research shows that marketing messages showing the negative consequences of one type of harmful behavior may weaken risk perceptions toward other unrelated areas and may increase behavioral intentions to participate in those unhealthy and risky actions, particularly among people who are not the intended target of those messages. For instance, after being exposed to anti-smoking campaign messages, people who do not currently smoke and who are not tempted to smoke may develop an imaginary boost in their health conditions, which is an unintended outcome of anti-smoking campaigns. As a consequence of such illusions (i.e., unjustified increases in confidence regarding their health), these people may (wrongfully) believe that they have more slack or resources to idle away; therefore, they are more likely to perceive risk in other types of unhealthy behaviors as comparatively low and acceptable, thereby making them more likely to commit such behaviors, a phenomenon we term as an “inter-domain risk compensation fallacy.” The current research empirically show that non-smokers who are exposed to harms of cigarette smoking are more likely to engage in risky and less healthy behaviors, relative to smokers who are exposed to the same messages or other who are not exposed to them. Theoretically, this research examines how individuals decide to behave in a risky manner as a consequence of biased risk perceptions, and how they compensate one decision for another across behavioral realms. Moreover, this research enhances our understanding of consumers’ unwise health-related decision-making, which is directly connected to consumer well-being. The results of the research also call for caution in the current practice of using public service announcements, given that they are used without careful selection of the right targets. Overall, this research proposes the unintended harmful effects of public service announcements and helps the public and public officials make better decisions.