Beyond “Cancer” Labels: How Disease Framing Reduces Health Information Avoidance
Prof. Zheshuai YANG
Assistant Professor
School of Management
Zhejiang University
Date: 21 October 2025 (Tuesday)
Time: 10:30-12:00
Venue: E22-G015
Host: Prof. Xinyue ZHOU, Distinguished Professor in Marketing, Prof. Esther LIU, Assistant Professor in Marketing
Abstract
Consumer information search is central to decision-making, yet individuals sometimes engage in information avoidance, deliberately steering clear of potentially valuable knowledge. Health information avoidance, in particular, poses serious risks, as people may forgo learning about medical conditions even when early detection is critical. This research identifies a novel, cost-effective intervention to mitigate such avoidance: reframing disease terminology to reduce perceived severity while holding pathological characteristics and screening procedures constant. Across one randomized controlled field experiment and four laboratory studies, we demonstrate that presenting the same condition with a less severe term (e.g., “lung nodule” instead of “lung cancer”) lowers health information avoidance, especially among high-risk individuals. These findings advance theories of health communication and information avoidance by revealing the role of linguistic framing in shaping avoidance behaviors. Practically, they offer a scalable, low-cost strategy for healthcare providers to increase screening uptake and facilitate early detection.
Speaker
Prof. Zheshuai YANG is an Assistant Professor at the School of Management, Zhejiang University. He received his bachelor’s degree from the School of Business, Renmin University of China, and his Ph.D. from the Business School of the National University of Singapore. His research has been published in leading academic journals such as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and the Journal of Consumer Research. He has served as the principal investigator of both the NSFC Young Scientists Fund and the General Program. Currently, his research focuses on consumer medical behaviors, and he is working at Zhejiang Women’s Hospital.
All are welcome!
