Modeling and Measuring the Impact of Fear, Guilt and Shame Appeals on Persuasion for Health Communication: A Study of Anti-Alcohol Messages Directed at Young Adults

Abstract

We study the effects of fear, shame and guilt on persuasiveness of anti-alcohol messages among young people. We experimentally test three distinct messages, each one focusing on one of the three negative emotions using a total sample of more than a thousand students. Results show that all three messages have a positive impact on persuasion. It appears that shame is very effective in the case of anti-alcohol abuse advertising directed at young people. In addition, we demonstrate that personal variables such as affect intensity and self-efficacy are important in explaining persuasiveness of messages.

Keywords: Threat, Fear, Guilt, Shame, Fear Appeal, Persuasion, Anti-alcohol messages