The effects of fear appeals on reactance in climate change communication
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9004200 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Laura Bilfinger (0000-0002-1340-9679, University of Münster, corresponding author), Benjamin Brummernhenrich (0000-0002-5680-9170, University of Münster), Regina Jucks (0000-0002-3980-4327, University of Münster) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 115 |
| Pages | 104666-104666 |
| Publication date | 2024-08-22 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Experimental Social Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-1031 • E-ISSN: 1096-0465 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.jesp.2024.104666 |
| OpenAlex | W4401732350 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 58 |
Addressing the existential threat posed by climate change requires urgent actions, both on an individual level and on a policy level. In the present research, we applied an emotion-based persuasion appeal model to climate change mitigation to test the effect of climate mitigation appeals formulated with different levels of threat (high vs. low) and appealing to different types of climate change solutions (individual vs. policy) in eliciting psychological reactance, motivating support for climate change mitigation, and influencing willingness to discuss the issue with others. Through an online between-subjects experiment, we found that appealing to individuals (as opposed to policy) increased individuals' perceived threat to freedom, and psychological reactance. Our threat manipulation increased levels of fear, but the interaction between level of threat and type of appeal was not statistically significant on any of our dependent variables. Results are discussed in light of the active debate regarding the effectiveness of fear appeals in the climate change communication context. • Individual (vs. policy) climate appeals increased freedom threat and reactance. • High climate threat (vs. low climate threat) increased self-reported fear. • Efficacy of threat appeals was not moderated by type of appeal (individual/policy). • Interest in climate change increased willingness to discuss the issue. • Results suggest caution when considering the appropriateness of fear appeals
Attitude change · Fear appeal · Persuasion · Persuasive communication · Reactance · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Psychology · Social Psychology
A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
Characterizing Reactance in Communication Research
Fear appeals in social marketing
Climate anxiety
Sixty years of fear appeal research
Creating a climate for change
Predicting Risk Behaviors
Experimental evidence for a dual pathway model analysis of coping with the climate crisis
Climate of hope or doom and gloom? Testing the climate change hope vs. fear communications debate through online videos
A Meta-Analysis of Fear Appeals
G*Power 3
Self- and Response Efficacy Information in Fear Appeals
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Ethical Issues in Covid-19 Communication to Mitigate the Pandemic
The Effects of Agency Assignment and Reference Point on Responses to Covid-19 Messages
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Is it Up to Me or Them? Insights from an Experimental Study on Psychological Reactance Towards Climate Change Mitigation Appeals
Individualism, Structuralism, and Climate Change
Psychological Reactance From Reading Basic Facts on Climate Change
Prospect Theory, Discrete Emotions, and Freedom Threats
The spiral of silence
Public Perception of Climate Change
Apocalypse Soon
Meta-analyses of the determinants and outcomes of belief in climate change
A Theory of Psychological Reactance
Reframing climate change as a public health issue
Fear-Arousing Persuasive Messages
Individual understandings, perceptions, and engagement with climate change
Undesirable effects of threatening climate change information
Determinants of young Australians’ environmental actions
Threat Without Efficacy? Climate Change on U.S. Network News
Putting the fear back into fear appeals
On the Nature of Reactance and its Role in Persuasive Health Communication
Fear control and danger control
Bivariate Agreement Coefficients for Reliability of Data
Effects of fear on donations to climate change mitigation
The dragons of inaction
Different levels of cognitive dissonance, information seeking, and information avoidance
Framing Climate Change
Fear Won't Do It
Appealing to fear
From influencing to engagement
Explaining the Effects of Narrative in an Entertainment Television Program
Psychological Reactance and Persuasive Health Communication
| Citations per year | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |