Enhancing the Effectiveness of Alcohol Warning Labels With a Self-Affirming Implementation Intention

Objective. Excess alcohol consumption extorts significant social and economic costs that are increasing despite the presence of mandatory warning labels on packaged alcoholic beverages. We used a novel approach by adding a brief statement based on self-affirmation theory (Steele, 1988) to alcohol warning labels. Method. In two studies (N = 85; N = 58), we randomized regular wine drinkers recruited from University campuses to complete a wine pouring task with bottles that had standard labelling, or bottles that added a self-affirming implementation intention to the standard labeling. Alcohol consumption, behavioral intention and self-efficacy were measured pre-manipulation; message acceptance was measured post-manipulation; and alcohol consumption, behavioral intention and self-efficacy were measured again at follow-up. Results. In both studies, the self-affirming implementation intention significantly reduced subsequent alcohol consumption (ds = 0.70 and 0.91, respectively). However, message acceptance, behavioral intention, and self-efficacy did not significantly mediate the observed effects. Conclusions. Self-affirming implementation intentions augmented the effect of alcohol warning labels to reduce subsequent alcohol consumption, but – consistent with the broader self-affirmation literature – it was not clear what mediated the effects. Further research is required to examine whether self-affirming implementation intentions could augment the effects of other kinds of public health-related labelling.