4.1. Preliminary Analysis
infection, ’s infection
INFECTION
The randomization was successful: the conditions did not differ significantly on gender (χThe experimental manipulation of the severity of the infection was effective. Participants exposed to the high-severity message (M = 5.44, SD = 1.36) showed a higher degree of agreement with the statement “the person infected with COVID-19 experienced severe symptoms” than those exposed to the low-severity message (M = 4.34, SD = 1.63; t(255.89) = −6.03, The experimental manipulation of the infection target was also effective. Participants exposed to the message referring to the protagonist’s infection showed a higher degree of agreement with the statement “the person affected by COVID-19 who narrates the message was a young person” (M = 6.77, SD = 0.68) than those exposed to the message referring to the protagonist’s father’s infection (M = 5.03, SD = 2.17; t(176.07) = −9.20, Correlations between the mediating variables and the dependent variables were also analyzed (see 