Integrating Terror Management Theory into Fear Appeal Research

Hunt, David M.; Shehryar, Omar

doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2011.00354.x

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The expectation for affective reactions to fear-arousing messages is less clear than those for cognitive reactions. Fear-appeal research often examines the effect of message exposure on behavior as occurring through the mediating role of negative affect such as perceived fear or anxiety (Hunt & Shehryar, 2011; Shehryar & Hunt, 2005). Yet, scant research has investigated the effect of such messages on affective attitudes.…”

Section: The Use Of Fear Appeals In Campaignsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear-Appeal Messages: Message Processing and Affective Attitudes

Rhodes

2015

Communication Research

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Theories of fear appeals suggest that fear-inducing messages can be effective, but public service announcements (PSAs) that emphasize fear do not always lead to desired change in behavior. To better understand how fear-inducing PSAs are processed, an experiment testing the effects of exposure to safe-driving messages is reported. College students (N = 108) viewed PSAs of varying message sensation value (MSV). Results indicated that messages with medium MSV resulted in intentions to drive more slowly than messages with low or high MSV. Measures of affective attitudes indicated that medium MSV messages resulted in fast driving being rated as less fun and exciting than those of either high or low MSV. These affective evaluations mediated the effect of message exposure on driving intention. Message derogation was not related to message intensity. Production of message-related thoughts decreased, and emotional thoughts increased with message intensity. This decrease in processing of message content suggested a limited capacity explanation for the effect of highly intense fear appeals.

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Section: The Use Of Fear Appeals In Campaignsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear-Appeal Messages: Message Processing and Affective Attitudes

Rhodes

2015

Communication Research

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“…In order to encourage such behaviour changes, many governmental and non-governmental organizations design and implement campaigns to promote pro-environmental behaviour. It is of great importance that the persuasive power of the messages used in these campaigns is carefully evaluated considering that ill constructed campaigns not only waste resources but may even have adverse consequences (Hunt & Shehryar, 2011;Witte & Allen, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual differences in values determine the relative persuasiveness of biospheric, economic and combined appeals

Broek

Bolderdijk

Steg

2017

Journal of Environmental Psychology

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Many environmental campaigns highlight both the environmental and financial benefits of behaviour change, in the hope of motivating a broad audience. But are such mixed appeals more persuasive than separate appeals? We argue that messages tailored to match recipient's prioritised values are more persuasive than combined appeals. We conducted a questionnaire study to assess the persuasiveness of economic, environmental, and mixed appeals (N ¼ 210). As expected, individual differences in values moderated the persuasive power of the different appeals. Importantly, we found that appeals that matched the recipients' values were more persuasive than the combined appeal. Interestingly, personal norms also acted as a moderator. These findings suggest that environmental campaigns aimed to induce behavioural change can benefit from tailoring persuasive messages to idiosyncratic characteristics of their target group, rather than employing a one-size-fits-all message.

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“…From the perspective of the TMHM, proximal defences centre around efforts to reduce perceived vulnerability to health threats through denial or avoidance (e.g., avoiding cancer screenings; Arndt, Routledge, & Goldenberg, 2006), or by engaging in healthy behaviours (e.g., intentions to exercise; Arndt, Schimel, & Goldenberg, 2003). Proximal defences, as defined by the TMHM, mirror behavioural health responses investigated in the context of research on fear appeals (e.g., Hunt & Shehryar, 2011), converging with the TMHM to predict responses to personally relevant, fear-arousing threats (e.g., mortality; see Tannenbaum et al, 2015). From both perspectives, compliance with (versus rejection of) a recommended health behaviour is most likely when the behaviour is perceived as easy, immediately actionable, and effective for reducing the threat (see e.g., Cooper, Goldenberg, & Arndt, 2010).…”

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confidence: 99%

The contagion of mortality: A terror management health model for pandemics

Courtney

Goldenberg

Boyd

2020

British J Social Psychol

109

133

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The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, proliferates as a contagious psychological threat just like the physical disease itself. Due to the growing death toll and constant coverage this pandemic gets, it is likely to activate mortality awareness, to greater or lesser extents, depending on a variety of situational factors. Using terror management theory and the terror management health model, we outline reactions to the pandemic that consist of proximal defences aimed at reducing perceived vulnerability to (as well as denial of) the threat, and distal defences bound by ideological frameworks from which symbolic meaning can be derived. We provide predictions and recommendations for shifting reactions to this pandemic towards behaviours that decrease, rather than increase, the spread of the virus. We conclude by considering the benefits of shifting towards collective mindsets to more effectively combat COVID-19 and to better prepare for the next inevitable pandemic.COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization Director-General on 11 March 2020. In countries most severely impacted by the disease, case fatality rates are thought to be as high as 15% (e.g., Belgium, 15.2%; 'Mortality Analyses', 2020). COVID-19 poses both a physical threat, due to its contagiousness, and a psychological threat through the fear it provokes (a phenomenon referred to as 'coupled contagion' by Epstein, 2020;Epstein et al., 2008). Terror management theory (TMT; Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986), which offers predictions for how people behave in response to fear associated with mortality, helps shed light on this unprecedented existential threat. In this paper, we rely on an extension of TMT, the terror management health model (TMHM; Goldenberg & Arndt, 2008), to investigate and make predictions about this pandemic, and provide recommendations for encouraging behaviour to slow the spread of COVID-19 and other potential pandemic diseases in the future.

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Integrating Terror Management Theory into Fear Appeal Research

Cited by 12 publications

References 40 publications

Fear-Appeal Messages: Message Processing and Affective Attitudes

Fear-Appeal Messages: Message Processing and Affective Attitudes

Individual differences in values determine the relative persuasiveness of biospheric, economic and combined appeals

The contagion of mortality: A terror management health model for pandemics

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