Scaring the Already Scared: Some Problems With HIV/AIDS Fear Appeals in Namibia.

Fear appeals are often used in public health campaigns in Africa to prevent further spread of HIV/AIDS. Based on the extended parallel processing model framework (K. Witte, 1991), this research assessed the impact of such messages in a high-fear situation. A 2 (high threat, low threat) × 2 (high eff...

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Publicado en:Journal of Communication Vol. 59; no. 2; pp. 317 - 345
Autores principales: Muthusamy, Nithya, Levine, Timothy R., Weber, Rene
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Oxford University Press / USA Jun2009
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        10.1111/j.1460-2466.2009.01418.x
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        atl: Scaring the Already Scared: Some Problems With HIV/AIDS Fear Appeals in Namibia.
      aug:
        au:
          Muthusamy, Nithya
          Levine, Timothy R.
          Weber, Rene
        affil:
          Department of Communication, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824
          Department of Communication, University of California—Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106
      su:
        Psychological tests
        Appeal to fear (Logical fallacy)
        HIV infections
        AIDS in mass media
        Influence
        Prevention
        Namibia
        Africa
      sug:
        subj:
          Namibia
          Africa
          Psychological tests
          Appeal to fear (Logical fallacy)
          HIV infections
          AIDS in mass media
          Influence
          Prevention
      ab: Fear appeals are often used in public health campaigns in Africa to prevent further spread of HIV/AIDS. Based on the extended parallel processing model framework (K. Witte, 1991), this research assessed the impact of such messages in a high-fear situation. A 2 (high threat, low threat) × 2 (high efficacy, no efficacy) experiment with a no-message offset control and efficacy-only conditions tested several predictions. Participants demonstrated high preexisting fear about HIV/AIDS. As a likely consequence, statistical equivalence tests indicated that messages' threat levels had little impact on perceptions of fear or on outcome measures such as attitudes, intentions, or behaviors. It is concluded that the use of fear appeals to persuade audience with high levels of preexisting fear is ill-advised and ineffective.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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