Fear control and danger control: A test of the extended parallel process model (EPPM)

TLDR

Fear appeals can be potent persuasive strategies but often backfire, and prior research has focused on factors leading to success while neglecting those associated with failure. The study aimed to explore the cognitive and emotional mechanisms underlying the success and failure of fear appeals in AIDS prevention using the Extended Parallel Process Model. The authors employed the EPPM framework to examine how fear and efficacy beliefs influence fear control and danger control responses. Results support the EPPM, showing that fear emotion drives fear control responses, threat perceptions drive danger control responses, and strong efficacy beliefs allow threat to mediate fear’s effect on behavior, indicating that cognitions lead to success via danger control while fear emotion leads to failure via fear control.

Abstract

Fear appeals have the potential to be potent persuasive strategies. However, they often backfire. Previous research has focused primarily on the factors leading to fear appeal successes and neglected the factors associated with fear appeal failures. Utilizing a recently developed fear appeal theory, the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM), a study was undertaken to explore the cognitive and emotional mechanisms underlying the success and failure of fear appeals in the context of AIDS prevention. The study results offered general support for the EPPM and indicated that (a) the emotion fear is associated with fear control responses and is not directly related to danger control responses, (b) perceptions (or cognitions) about the recommended response are associated with danger control responses and unrelated to fear control responses, and (c) when efficacy beliefs are strong, perceived threat mediates the relationship between the emotion fear and behavior. Overall, it appears that cognitions lead to fear appeal success (i.e., attitude, intention, or behavior changes) via the danger control processes, while the emotion fear leads to fear appeal failure (i.e., defensive avoidance or reactance) via the fear control processes.