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Fear Appeals
An approach used to change our attitudes and behaviors.
Posted Sep 18, 2018
Shoba Sreenivasan, Ph.D., and Linda E. Weinberger, Ph.D.
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Many studies on the effectiveness of fear appeals have been conducted. Generally, the findings reveal that fear appeals do work; however, more specific results were also discovered (Tannenbaum et al, 2015).
- There is a maximum effective value of fear. Once a moderate amount of fear is conveyed, there is no further benefit in adding more fear.
- Fear messages that let the audience know they can perform the recommended behavior or that the behavior will have a positive result are more effective than fear appeal messages without mention of recommended actions.
- Fear appeals that recommend one-time behaviors are more effective than appeals that recommend repeated behaviors.
- Fear appeals are more effective for women because women tend to be more ?prevention-focused? than men.
The practice of fear appeals has its warranted critics; especially, if applied unethically. If fear is used to motivate attitudinal and behavioral change, it should be used judiciously. Moreover, it might be best directed toward individuals who are known and for whom the recommendations apply appropriately, rather than an ambiguous population....
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