The persuasive effect of an appeal to fear in anti-tobacco advertisements: the influences of self-regulation and message framing in young adults.

Objectives: An appeal to fear may attract an audience's attention to anti-smoking advertisements that reveal tobacco to be harmful and lead to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Two empirical studies investigated the persuasive effects of advertisements with appeals to fear and the moderating effect of a self-regulatory focus. Methods: In Study 1, a paper-andpencil questionnaire survey of 172 subjects was used to compare the persuasive effects of antitobacco ads with and without appeals to fear, and to examine the moderating effect of a selfregulatory focus. In Study 2, a 2 (fear /non-fear) by 2 (positive /negative framed message) experimental design with 185 subjects was used to examine the moderating effect of message framing on the persuasive effect of an appeal to fear. Results: Audiences' perceived efficacy and behavioral intent were greater when the ad contains appeals to fear. Both a self-regulatory focus and message framing moderated the impact of appeals to fear on the attitudes toward ads and behavioral intent. Conclusions: According to these empirical studies, we found that an appeal to fear could enhance the persuasive effect; however, a self-regulatory focus might moderate the impact of appeals to fear on attitudes toward anti-tobacco advertisements and behavioral intent. Message framing might also moderate the persuasive effect of appeals to fear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]