A Meta-Analysis of Fear Appeals: Implications for Effective Public Health Campaigns

Health Education and Behavior - Tập 27 Số 5 - Trang 591-615 - 2000
Kim Witte1, Mike Allen2
1Department of Communication, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824-1212, USA.
2Department of Communication, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Tóm tắt

The fear appeal literature is examined in a comprehensive synthesis using meta-analytical techniques. The meta-analysis suggests that strong fear appeals produce high levels of perceived severity and susceptibility, and are more persuasive than low or weak fear appeals. The results also indicate that fear appeals motivate adaptive danger control actions such as message acceptance and maladaptive fear control actions such as defensive avoidance or reactance. It appears that strong fear appeals and high-efficacy messages produce the greatest behavior change, whereas strong fear appeals with low-efficacy messages produce the greatest levels of defensive responses. Future directions and practical implications are provided.

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