Page 275 - The Handbook of Persuasion and Social Marketing

Public Support for Regulating the Public 251

is a right, if individuals cannot provide it to themselves, then society (act-
ing through the government) has a duty to provide it. In public health
policy, this thread appears under the rubric of addressing disparities (one
of the two key goals of the 2010 Healthy People initiative). Consumers
may be unable to provide for themselves because of a lack of financial re-
sources (e.g., medical care/insurance), a physical disability (e.g., accessing
a retail outlet), geography (e.g., inner-city youth lacking access to safe rec-
reational environments), and so on. Rothschild (1999) explains why edu-
cation cannot overcome a person’s lack of ability (unless the person can
learn to overcome it); thus, an alternative remedy is required. In the United
States, the two most common remedies for inclusion and equity problems
are for the government to construct a public facility or to subsidize the
price the needy must pay.
A “public problem” reason that is driving the use of upstream remedies
is that individual problems are increasingly being framed as public prob-
lems. This frame most often comes about because, due to the goals of in-
clusion and equity, there is a clear link between individuals’ behavior, their
needs, and the public’s financial interests. For example, if health care is
subsidized by the public, then any activity that could harm a person’s
health can be construed as a matter of public interest rather than merely
self-interest. Similarly, if smoking is framed as a hazard to all people be-
cause of secondhand smoke or as a financial burden to the public because
of the health care costs associated with smoking outcomes, then reducing
tobacco use becomes a concern for all citizens rather than a matter of per-
sonal choice and freedom.
The broadest reason is that a “social constructionist” view of human
behavior is increasingly being embraced by scholars and the public. The
essence of this view is that people’s behavior is viewed as being more a
product of their environment than a product of “free choice.” This chapter
discusses two broad sources: people’s physical environment and their in-
formation environment. The most critical aspect of the physical environ-
ment is the socioeconomic context (e.g., negative health outcomes are
strongly correlated with poverty, education, unemployment, lack of avail-
able housing, race/ethnicity, lack of social support, etc.). In addition, there
are marketing-specific factors that shift the physical environment away
from pro-social behaviors. For example, some groups may have very easy
access to retailers who sell “bad” products (e.g., liquor stores in poor
neighborhoods, fast-food outlets near schools) or too little access to retail-
ers who sell “good” products, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, or places
where people can engage in positive behaviors, such as parks where chil-
dren can play. The former argument is used to justify restricting where