{"id":20138,"date":"2022-03-13T11:22:46","date_gmt":"2022-03-13T15:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/?p=20138"},"modified":"2024-01-16T10:06:17","modified_gmt":"2024-01-16T14:06:17","slug":"effectiveness-of-fear-appeals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2022\/03\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the effectiveness of fear appeals?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Why accentuate the negative?<\/h2>\n<p>Fear appeals work.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31761\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31761\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"31761\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/persuasive-writing\/fear-appeals\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals.png\" data-orig-size=\"450,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"effectiveness-of-fear-appeals\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Better sorry than safe? &lt;\/strong&gt;Arousing fear can be more effective than promising rewards at moving people to act. &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/closeup-man-mexican-calaveras-makeup-wearing-497335528&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image by nito&lt;\/em&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals-300x200.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals.png\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals.png\" alt=\"Effectiveness of fear appeals\" title=\"Effectiveness of fear appeals\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-full wp-image-31761 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals.png 450w, https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals-300x200.png 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 450px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 450\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"31761\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/persuasive-writing\/fear-appeals\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals.png\" data-orig-size=\"450,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"effectiveness-of-fear-appeals\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Better sorry than safe? &lt;\/strong&gt;Arousing fear can be more effective than promising rewards at moving people to act. &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/closeup-man-mexican-calaveras-makeup-wearing-497335528&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image by nito&lt;\/em&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals-300x200.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals.png\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals.png\" alt=\"Effectiveness of fear appeals\" title=\"Effectiveness of fear appeals\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-full wp-image-31761\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals.png 450w, https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31761\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Better sorry than safe? <\/strong>Arousing fear can be more effective than promising rewards at moving people to act. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/closeup-man-mexican-calaveras-makeup-wearing-497335528\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Image by nito<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>That\u2019s according to 100 studies and 50 years of research on fear appeals reviewed by researchers Kim Witte and Mike Allen.<\/p>\n<p>Fear appeals \u2014 also known as scare tactics, shock tactics, negative messages, risk communications, threats and avoidance benefits \u2014 have a high \u201cresponse efficacy,\u201d researchers say.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, a threat may be more likely to motivate behavior than a promise.<\/p>\n<h3>We\u2019ve used fear appeals for decades.<\/h3>\n<p>Preachers, teachers, communicators and others have used fear appeals since antiquity to convince people to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Apply sunscreen<\/li>\n<li>Avoid drugs and alcohol<\/li>\n<li>Conduct breast self-exams<\/li>\n<li>Drive safely<\/li>\n<li>Duck and cover<\/li>\n<li>Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables<\/li>\n<li>Exercise<\/li>\n<li>Floss<\/li>\n<li>Learn self-defense techniques<\/li>\n<li>Not drink and drive<\/li>\n<li>Stop smoking<\/li>\n<li>Use condoms<\/li>\n<li>Wear seatbelts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can use fear appeals in your persuasive messages, too, to get your readers to do everything from getting heart scans to buying long-term-care insurance to contributing to their 401(k) plans.<\/p>\n<h3>Consequences more powerful than benefits.<\/h3>\n<p>Appeals can be positive: make money, save money, save time. But sometimes negative appeals work best.<\/p>\n<h5>\u201cPeople spend 19 times the time, effort and expense to solve a pain than to reap a benefit.\u201d<\/h5>\n<h6>\u2014 Chris Stiehl, \u201cThe Listening Coach\u201d<\/h6>\n<p>In one extended parallel study, for instance, researchers tested two messages:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Negative:<\/strong> By failing to perform breast self-examinations, you\u2019ll be less likely to discover cancer in its early stages, so treatment will be less likely to work.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Positive:<\/strong> By performing breast self-examinations, you\u2019ll be more likely to detect breast cancer in its early stages, when it\u2019s more treatable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The negative version was nearly 20% more effective than the positive one at getting women to conduct breast self-exams.<\/p>\n<p>So forget what your mother told you: If you can\u2019t think of anything nice to say, say something negative. Your campaign may be more powerful.<\/p>\n<h3>Symptoms more powerful than cures.<\/h3>\n<p>Writing about symptoms may be the holy grail for health communication, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediapost.com\/publications\/article\/70611\/drugmakers-should-focus-on-symptoms-study-finds.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according to a study by MedTrack Alert<\/a> and the Interactive Media Services Program at Miami University in Ohio.<\/p>\n<p>Describing the symptoms of a disease, according to the study, provides a \u201cdouble hit\u201d of:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Convincing customers to comply<\/strong> with action recommendations such as using a product or service<\/li>\n<li><strong>Getting people to pass the messages along<\/strong> through word of mouth<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>In fact, focusing on symptoms is more effective than focusing on:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gaining better control over a condition<\/li>\n<li>Experiencing a positive outcome<\/li>\n<li>Getting good results<\/li>\n<li>Saving money with a discount coupon<\/li>\n<li>Showing that the cure is easy to use<\/li>\n<li>Explaining how a drug works<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThe findings here suggest that an advertisement that calls attention to the symptoms &#8230; has the most potential to be acted upon,\u201d the researchers say.<\/p>\n<h3>Negative fake news gains traction.<\/h3>\n<p>Did Stanley Kubrick fake the moon landings? Was President Obama holding a rocket launcher in a car with an ISIS leader? Does your favorite shampoo cause hair loss?<\/p>\n<p>No, no and probably not, according to Snopes\u2019 \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.snopes.com\/info\/top25uls.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">25 Hottest Urban Legends<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So what makes bad news \u2014 even when it\u2019s fake news \u2014 gain such traction?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2015\/11\/tall-tales\/407836\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">It\u2019s evolutionary<\/a>, writes Matthew Hutson in <em>The Atlantic<\/em>. The more likely a message is to help us survive a threat (or find a mate), the more likely we are to believe it, remember it and share it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Fear appeals are more believable<\/strong>. In one study, subjects ranked the sources of negative messages (leeches clinging to your feet, software frying your hard drive, meat turning bitter on the stove) as much as 287% more knowledgeable than messages about the same subjects but with neutral themes. (Pascal Boyer &amp; Nora Parren, \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/journals.plos.org\/plosone\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pone.0128421\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Threat-Related Information Suggests Competence<\/a>,\u201d <em>PLOS One<\/em>, June 2015)<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Fear appeals are more memorable<\/strong>. In another study, subjects read an urban legend, rewrote it from memory and passed it onto the next person in a sequence like the game of telephone.At the end of the chain, subjects remembered the legends that would help them survive (serial killers and spiders) or rise socially (cybersex) much better than the control information. (Joseph M. Stubbersfield, Jamshid J. Tehrani &amp; Emma G. Flynn, \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pubfacts.com\/detail\/24975479\/Serial-killers-spiders-and-cybersex:-Social-and-survival-information-bias-in-the-transmission-of-urb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Serial Killers, Spiders and Cybersex<\/a>,\u201d <em>British Journal of Psychology<\/em>, May 2015)<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Fear appeals get shared<\/strong>. When researchers analyzed 220 urban legends, they found that the stories were much more likely to mention threats than benefits. That makes sense: Evolutionarily, believing in a fake hazard is less harmful than disregarding a real one.And subjects found statements about topics ranging from German shepherds to LASIK surgery more believable when they mentioned risks, like mauling or double vision. (Daniel M. T. Fessler, Anne C. Pisor &amp; Carlos David Navarrete, \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/journals.plos.org\/plosone\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pone.0095167\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Negatively-Biased Credulity and the Cultural Evolution of Beliefs<\/a>,\u201d PLOS One, April 2014)<\/p>\n<h3>Bring on the bad news.<\/h3>\n<p>Some 84% of executives say their communication is intentionally \u201coptimistic.\u201d That\u2019s a mistake.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, research by David M. Schweiger and Yaakov Weber shows that communicating bad news as well as good decreases employees\u2019 uncertainty and stress.<\/p>\n<p>Bad news increases employees\u2019:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Job satisfaction<\/li>\n<li>Commitment<\/li>\n<li>Trust in the company<\/li>\n<li>Intention to stay at the company<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Accentuate the negative.<\/h3>\n<p>Fear appeals work for getting people to do everything from duck and cover to avoid texting while driving.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">How can you accentuate the negative in your next campaign?<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>Sources: Kim Witte and Mike Allen, \u201cA Meta-Analysis of Fear Appeals: Implications for Effective Public Health Campaigns,\u201d <em>Health Education &amp; Behavior,<\/em> vol. 27, no. 5, October 2000<\/p>\n<p>Aaron Baar, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediapost.com\/publications\/article\/70611\/drugmakers-should-focus-on-symptoms-study-finds.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Drugmakers Should Focus On Symptoms, Study Finds<\/a>,\u201d <em>Marketing Daily,<\/em> Nov. 8, 2007<\/p>\n<p>David M. Schweiger and Angelo S. Denisi, \u201cCommunication with Employees Following a Merger: A Longitudinal Field Experiment,\u201d\u00a0<em>Academy of Management Journal,<\/em>\u00a0Vol. 24, No. 1, March 1991, pp. 110-135<\/p>\n<p>Robert A. Ruiter, Bas Verplanken and Gerdien van Eersel, \u201cStrengthening the Persuasive Impact of Fear Appeals: The Role of Action Framing,\u201d <em>The Journal of Social Psychology,<\/em> June 2003<\/p>\n<p>Matthew Hutson, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2015\/11\/tall-tales\/407836\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Strange Origins of Urban Legends<\/a>,\u201d <em>The Atlantic<\/em>, Dec. 8, 2015<\/p>\n<p>TJ Larkin &amp; Sandar Larkin, \u201cCommunicate the Good and the Bad,\u201d Larkin Page No. 46, October 2006<\/p>\n<p>David M. Schweiger and Yaakov Weber: \u201cStrategies for Managing Human Resources during Mergers and Acquisitions: An Empirical Investigation,\u201d <em>HR \u2013 Human Resource Planning,<\/em> Vol. 12, No. 2, 1989, pp. 69-86<\/p>\n<div id='MMC-Persuasive' class='widgets_on_page wop_tiny1  wop_small1  wop_medium1  wop_large1  wop_wide1'>\n\t\t\t<ul><li id=\"custom_html-82\" class=\"widget_text widget widget_custom_html\"><div class=\"textwidget custom-html-widget\"><a title=\"Persuasive-writing workshop, a mini master class\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/corporate-communications-training\/mini-master-classes-home\/persuasive-writing-workshop\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/persuasive-writing-training-mmc.png\" alt=\"Persuasive-writing workshop, a mini master class\" title=\"Persuasive-writing workshop, a mini master class\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\" border=\"0\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 250px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 250\/250;float:left; text-align:left; margin: 0 auto; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 18x; line-height: 22px; padding: 0px; color: #FFFFFF; max-width:100%; max-height:100%;\" class=\"img-max lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/persuasive-writing-training-mmc.png\" alt=\"Persuasive-writing workshop, a mini master class\" title=\"Persuasive-writing workshop, a mini master class\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\" border=\"0\" style=\"float:left; text-align:left; margin: 0 auto; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 18x; line-height: 22px; padding: 0px; color: #FFFFFF; max-width:100%; max-height:100%;\" class=\"img-max\"><\/noscript><\/a><h3>Move readers to act with persuasive writing<\/h3>\r\n\t\r\n<p>Your readers are bombarded with the data equivalent of 174 newspapers \u2014 ads included \u2014 every day, according to a study by USC\u2019s Annenberg School for Communication.<\/p>\r\n\t\r\n<p>In this environment, how do you grab readers\u2019 attention and move them to act?<\/p>\r\n\t\r\n<p>Learn how to write more engaging, persuasive messages at our <a title=\"Persuasive-writing workshop, a mini master class\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/corporate-communications-training\/mini-master-classes-home\/persuasive-writing-workshop\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>persuasive-writing workshop<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"btn btn--depth\" style=\"text-align: center;  margin: 10px 0 20px; width:100%;\"><a id=\"btnTT\" style=\"\" title=\"BOOK NOW\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/corporate-communications-training\/mini-master-classes-home\/persuasive-writing-workshop\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-width=\"91\">BOOK NOW<\/a>\r\n<!-- [if mso]>\r\n<p style=\"line-height:0;margin:0;\"><v:roundrect xmlns:v=\"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml\" href=https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/corporate-communications-training\/mini-master-classes-home\/persuasive-writing-workshop\/\" style=\"width:153px\" arcsize=\"8%\" strokecolor=\"#D96237\" filled=\"t\"><v:fill type=\"gradient\" angle=\"180\" color=\"#f16522\" color2=\"#f16522\"><\/v:fill><v:textbox style=\"mso-fit-shape-to-text:t\" inset=\"0px,11px,0px,11px\"><center style=\"font-size:16px;line-height:24px;color:#FFFFFF;font-family:sans-serif;font-weight:bold;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-text-raise:4px\">BOOK NOW<\/center><\/v:textbox><\/v:roundrect><\/p>\r\n<![endif]--><\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><!-- widgets_on_page -->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why accentuate the negative?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":31761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[488],"tags":[250,489,490],"class_list":{"0":"post-20138","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fear-appeals","8":"tag-fear-appeals","9":"tag-reseachers","10":"tag-study","11":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v23.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What\u2019s the effectiveness of fear appeals?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Better sorry than safe? 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