“You may have a cancer-causing virus and not even know it” Fear appeals in online news
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: Most explanations of health risks are presented as “fear appeals,” messages that attempt to arouse fear to modify personal behavior. The central goal of this research is to assess fear appeal performance in online news while examining several research-design issues. Looking at digital news content as fear appeals will expand the scope of research into a new area, and more effective measurement and induction will avoid some common pitfalls. An online experiment produced data indicating that perceived threat and efficacy relationships developed as expected in online news and that improvements in research-design artifacts strongly affect observed variable relationships. Fear appeal and efficacy messages included in digital media content seem to be effective means to altering individual behavioral intentions.
Source: First Monday
Authors: Brad Love, Michael S. Mackert
Language: English
Topic: Media Influence and Health
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2153200228