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Fear Appeals (fear + appeal)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting50%
Humanities and Social Sciences33%

Selected Abstracts

Self-Report and Psychophysiological Responses to Fear Appeals

HUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH, Issue 2 2009
Juan R. Ordoñana
This study was designed to assess the relationship between self-report and psychophysiological responses to fear appeals and behavioral changes elicited by these. Ninety-two subjects watched one of four messages that varied in level of threat (high vs. low) and efficacy (high vs. low). Concomitantly, psychophysiological measures (heart rate and skin conductance) were registered. Perceived threat and efficacy varied according to the characteristics of the message. High-threat messages elicited significantly different levels of autonomic arousal than low-threat messages. Following of behavioral recommendation was higher among subjects who were exposed to the high threat / high efficacy stimulus, those who reported high perceived threat, and for those who showed an autonomic response pattern related to the facilitation of attentional processes. Résumé Les auto-évaluations et les réactions psychophysiologiques aux messages véhiculant des peurs Cette étude fut réalisée afin d'évaluer la relation entre les auto-évaluations et les réactions psychophysiologiques à des messages véhiculant des peurs ainsi que les changements suscités par ceux-ci. 92 sujets ont visionné un de quatre messages variant en niveau de danger (élevé ou faible) et d,efficacité (forte ou faible). En même temps, des mesures psychophysiologiques (le rythme cardiaque et la conduction cutanée) furent enregistrées. La perception de danger et d'efficacité variait suivant les caractéristiques du message. Les messages à danger élevé suscitaient des niveaux d,éveil autonome sensiblement différents des messages à faible danger. Le suivi de recommandations comportementales était plus élevé chez les sujets ayant été exposés au stimulus à danger élevé et à forte efficacité, chez ceux ayant déclaré une perception de danger élevé ainsi que chez ceux ayant présenté un schéma de réaction autonome liéà la facilitation des processus attentionnels. Abstract Selbstauskünfte zu und psychophysiologische Reaktionen auf Furchtappelle Ziel dieser Studie war es, die Beziehung zwischen den Aussagen zu und den psychophysiologischen Reaktionen auf Furchtappelle und Verhaltensänderungen zu untersuchen. 92 Teilnehmer sahen eine von vier Botschaften, die nach dem Grad der Gefahr (hoch vs. niedrig) und der Selbstwirksamkeit (hoch vs. niedrig) variierten. Begleitend wurden psychophysiologische Messungen (Herzfrequenz, Hautleitwiderstand) durchgeführt. Die wahrgenommene Bedrohung und Selbstwirksamkeit variierte nach den Charakteristika der Botschaft. Bei Botschaften mit hoher Gefahr zeigten die Teilnehmer einen anderen Grad an autonomer Erregung als bei Botschaften mit geringer Gefahr. Teilnehmer, die den Stimulus mit hoher Gefahr und hoher Selbstwirksamkeit rezipiert hatten, folgten den Verhaltensempfehlungen häufiger als diejenigen, die eine hohe wahrgenommene Gefahr berichteten und jene, die ein autonomes Reaktionsmuster zeigten, welches im Zusammenhang mit Zuwendung und Aufmerksamkeit steht. Resumen Los Auto-Reportes y las Respuestas Psico-Fisiológicas a las Apelaciones al Miedo Este estudio fue designado para evaluar la relación entre los auto-reportes y las respuestas psico-fisiológicas a las apelaciones al miedo y los cambios de comportamiento provocados por estos. 92 sujetos observaron 1 de 4 mensajes que variaron en su nivel de amenaza (alto o bajo) y la eficacia (alta o baja). Concomitantemente, las medidas psico-fisiológicas (pulso cardíaco y conductor de la piel) fueron registradas. La amenaza percibida y la eficacia variaron de acuerdo a las características del mensaje. Los mensajes de amenaza alta provocaron diferentes niveles significativos de excitación nerviosa que los mensajes de amenaza baja. Siguiendo la recomendación de comportamiento fue más alta entre los sujetos que fueron expuestos a la amenaza alta/ eficacia de estímulo alta, aquellos que reportaron una amenaza percibida alta, y para los que mostraron pautas de respuesta nerviosas relacionadas con la facilitación de los procesos de atención. ZhaiYao Yo yak [source]

Fear Appeals in Political Rhetoric about Terrorism: An Analysis of Speeches by Australian Prime Minister Howard

POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2009
Krista De Castella
This paper explores fear-arousing content in Australian former Prime Minister John Howard's political rhetoric about terrorism. We coded 27 speeches delivered between September 2001 and November 2007 for the presence of statements promoting fear-consistent appraisals (Smith & Lazarus, 1993). Fear-arousing content was present in 24 of these speeches, but the amount of fear-arousing content varied markedly. In particular, rhetoric that raised doubts about the capacity of Australia and its allies to cope with terrorism was most strongly present in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq and at times of declining support for government policies. Textual analysis of three key speeches confirmed a marked difference between Howard's speech given immediately after the attacks on September 11, 2001, and the second and third speeches presented prior to and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. These findings indicate that Howard has not consistently employed fear-inducing rhetoric in his speeches about terrorism, but that particular speeches appear to take this form, raising the possibility that fear-arousing rhetoric may have been selectively deployed to support his political purposes at those times. [source]

Using fear appeals to promote cancer screening,are we scaring the wrong people?

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NONPROFIT & VOLUNTARY SECTOR MARKETING, Issue 2 2006
Sandra C. Jones
There is debate regarding the use of fear appeals (emphasizing severe threats to health) in social marketing, to encourage preventive behaviours, such as screening for breast cancer. While it has been found that fear appeals may result in attitude and behaviour change there is also the risk of inciting inappropriate levels of fear, motivating the wrong audience or instigating maladaptive behaviour in the target group such as denial or defensive avoidance. This study examined the impact of an experimental threat manipulation for mammography screening on a group of women in regional Australia. The study found that varying the level of threat had no impact on stated intentions of the women to undergo mammographic screening. However, it also found that high-threat messages resulted in stronger negative emotional reactions and greater perceived susceptibility among younger women who are not the target group for screening in Australia. The results of this study emphasize the importance of limiting the use of high levels of threat in social marketing campaigns, and ensuring that campaigns are appropriately designed to specifically impact upon and motivate the target group. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Self-Referenced Fear and Guilt Appeals: The Moderating Role of Self-Construal

JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 11 2005
Lauren G. Block
Results from 2 studies on advertising to reduce the incidence of drinking and driving show that the effect of self- vs. other-referencing on the persuasiveness of fear and guilt appeals is moderated by definitions of the self (independent vs. interdependent self-construals). For people who hold a predominantly independent self-construal, superiority of self- vs. other-referencing holds for guilt appeals, but the opposite is true for fear appeals. For people who hold a predominantly interdependent self-construal, other-referenced and self-referenced messages are equally recalled and equally favorable for both fear and guilt appeals. [source]

Fear-pattern analysis supports the fear-drive model for antispeeding road-safety TV ads

PSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 11 2004
John R. Rossiter
Previous studies of fear appeals in advertising have relied on a procedure that measures only the overall level of fear produced by the ad. That procedure cannot validly test the effect of drive reduction, which is the central causal mechanism in Hovland, Janis, and Kelley's (1953) original fear-drive model. To overcome this limitation, the present research identifies the fear pattern of the ad, based on moment-to-moment ratings of fear-to-relief taken for its duration. In Study 1, which examines ratings of seven antispeeding TV commercials, it is shown that a postexposure overall rating of fear is in fact measuring the maximum level of fear experienced, not the average level, and that this static rating of fear cannot distinguish very different patterns, such as the pattern of rising fear with no relief, the "shock" pattern of sudden fear with no relief (both representing positive punishment), and the classic fear-relief pattern (the drivereduction pattern). In Study 2, which is a laboratory experiment using antispeeding road-safety TV commercials and a dependent variable of speed choice on a realistic simulated driving test, it is demonstrated that the fear-relief pattern reduces young drivers' speed choice not only initially but after heavy repetition of the ad, whereas fear without relief increases speed choice initially, then, after heavy repetition, it decreases speed choice, although not down to the driving speed produced by fear-relief. The reason why a shock ad starts to work following heavy repetition is that viewers begin to anticipate the shock and the ad becomes, in effect, a fear-relief ad. The overall results strongly support the fear-drive model. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]