Presented By: Megan Pietruszewski Norman, Pennsylvania State University
Co-Authors: Daniel Foster, Pennsylvania State University
Jessica Gall Myrick, Pennsylvania State University
Melanie Miller Foster, Pennsylvania State University

Encouraging people to attend professional development events can be a challenge, especially when events are held online and are targeting audiences across multiple time zones. In this study, we apply gain and loss framing to recruitment messages to encourage participation in an online community dedicated to global agricultural educator empowerment to better understand what message designs may encourage participation by attending to features of the message design itself. Nearly 1200 members of an online community of practice representing educators from diverse contexts, disciplines and geographic locations were invited to complete an online survey, which randomly assigned them to view either a gain or loss framed email message about a real, upcoming community event. Both messages included the same content about the upcoming event but used different words to promote the event. Applying prospect theory to communication, loss frame messages emphasized what participants would miss out on if they did not attend. Conversely, the gain frame highlighted the benefits of attending the event. In line with calls from other gain and loss frame communication studies to study moderators and mediating variables, we measured if previous involvement in the organization affected participants' intentions to attend the event and attitude toward the event. We asked about participants' efficacy perceptions and stress levels resulting from viewing the message to see if efficacy and stress affected intentions to attend and attitudes toward the event. Measures were adapted from previous studies for improved reliability. Finally, we observed actual event participation to see if the type of invitation influenced event attendance. Results of this experiment shed light on what communication strategies encourage people to attend professional development opportunities by focusing on how the event invitations are composed and processed by community members. Applications of findings can be applied to formal, informal, and non-formal agricultural education programming.