Message and conceptual confounds in fear appeals: The role of threat, fear, and efficacy

Abstract

While many scholars “know” a fear appeal when they hear one, few can define exactly what causes a message to be categorized as a fear appeal. This lack of specificity in operationalizations of fear appeals may have contributed to the diverse empirical literature. This essay attempts to identify the methodological and conceptual confounds in the literature. First, the structural, style, and extra‐message features of fear appeals are defined. Then, study design issues are discussed. Finally, the empirical literature is analyzed. Recommendations are offered for those conducting research.