Fear and Death: A Meta-Analytic Review of Fear Appeals from a Terror Management Perspective

Nancy Rhodes, David M. Hunt, Scott Radford

Research output: Contribution to conferencePresentation

Abstract

Fear appeals are a predominant persuasive tool used in health awareness. Questions still exist about when and how fear appeals work. The present meta-analysis of 80 studies examined support for hypotheses generated from the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) and Terror Management Theory (TMT). The findings showed mixed support for EPPM: Higher efficacy was associated with stronger persuasive effects for high (versus low) fear messages, but the level of fear elicited by the message was not related to stronger persuasive effects. Support for TMT was demonstrated by finding that the type of threat had significant effects. When death threat was explicit, fear-inducing messages higher in efficacy resulted in greater persuasion than when the fear was implicit. However, implicit messages are associated with a boomerang effect under conditions of low efficacy, indicating defensive processing. We argue that TMT provides a sharper lens through which to view fear appeal effects.
Original languageAmerican English
StatePublished - 18 Jun 2013
Externally publishedYes
EventInternational Communication Association 2013 Annual Conference, [London, UK] -
Duration: 18 Jun 2013 → …

Conference

ConferenceInternational Communication Association 2013 Annual Conference, [London, UK]
Period18/06/13 → …

EGS Disciplines

  • Psychology

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