Threat appeal communications: The interplay between health resistance and cognitive appraisal processes

Abstract

The successful use of threat appeals is largely determined by how an individual copes with the threat being communicated, and their level of health resistance. This study explores the relationship between coping response and attitudes towards the undesirable behaviour of smoking, and also investigates the moderating influence of health resistance on this relationship. Using an experimental design and responses from 353 respondents, findings indicate that social threats create the strongest in adaptive coping response among adolescents which in turn create negative attitudes towards smoking and acceptance of anti-smoking messages. Health resistance does however moderate this relationship where the higher the level of health resistance, the less likely an individual will continue to have a negative attitude towards smoking messages. The confirmed influence of health resistance on cognitive appraisal processes is an important consideration for any social marketer and we discuss implications and recommendations for further research regarding these issues.

Keywords:

• health communications
• physical threat
• social threat
• coping response
• health resistance
• attitudes
• experimental design