TAILIEUCHUNG - Fear Appeals in Social Marketing: Strategic and Ethical Reasons for Concern

This article criticizes the predominant use of fear appeals in social marketing. Laboratory studies, which have been the basis for most of the research on fear appeals and which generally suggest that high fear works, have limitations that include forced exposure, short-term measurement, and an overdependence on student samples. Although, unfortunately, field research evaluations of fear appeals are few, they usually reveal that fear has both weaker effects and unintended deleterious effects in real-world social marketing campaigns. Ethical concerns about fear appeals include maladaptive responses such as chronic heightened anxiety among those most at risk and, paradoxically, complacency among those not directly targeted, and increased social inequity between those who respond. | Fear Appeals in Social Marketing Strategic and Ethical Reasons for Concern Gerard Hastings and Martine Stead University of Stirling Open University John Webb University of Strathclyde ABSTRACT This article criticizes the predominant use of fear appeals in social marketing. Laboratory studies which have been the basis for most of the research on fear appeals and which generally suggest that high fear works have limitations that include forced exposure short-term measurement and an overdependence on student samples. Although unfortunately field research evaluations of fear appeals are few they usually reveal that fear has both weaker effects and unintended deleterious effects in real-world social marketing campaigns. Ethical concerns about fear appeals include maladaptive responses such as chronic heightened anxiety among those most at risk and paradoxically complacency among those not directly targeted and increased social inequity between those who respond to fear campaigns who tend to be better off and those who do not who tend to be the less educated and poorer members of society. Alternatives to fear appeals are the use of positive reinforcement appeals aimed at the good behavior the use of humor and for younger audiences the use of postmodern irony. 2004 Wiley Periodicals Inc. Fear appeals are once again popular in health campaigns and in advertising by charity organizations. Recent campaigns aimed at smoking prevention in the United States Biener McCallum-Keller Nyman 2000 Psychology Marketing Vol. 21 11 961-986 November 2004 Published online in Wiley InterScience 2004 Wiley Periodicals Inc. DOI 961 DeJong Hoffman 2000 Goldman Glantz 1998 the United Kingdom Baker 1995 Grey Owen Bolling 2000 and Australia Chapman 1999 have used fear-arousing images as have campaigns for road safety in New Zealand Land Transport Safety Authority 2001 and in Victoria Australia Transport Accident Commission 2002 and numerous charitable

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