There are Threats and (Maybe) Fear-Caused Arousal: Theory and Confusions of Appeals to Fear and Fear Arousal Itself

Abstract

Most research in the area generally known as “fear appeals” has examined the persuasive effects and effectiveness of different types of threat-based communications on various groups of consumer subjects, often failing to distinguish between the threats, the literal communication stimuli, and the actual fear arousal response that different types of threats might engender. Building on a noteworthy exception to that pattern of past work, which provided a basis for a model of fear arousal, the authors further clarify the distinction between threats and psychological responses to the threats. They test an expanded model based on that distinction that provides further understanding of consumer fear arousal responses to advertising stimuli.