The DOI matches its Crossref record; 151 of the 151 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
A Meta-Analysis of Fear Appeals: Implications for Effective Public Health Campaigns
Abstract
The fear appeal literature is examined in a comprehensive synthesis using meta-analytical techniques. The meta-analysis suggests that strong fear appeals produce high levels of perceived severity and susceptibility, and are more persuasive than low or weak fear appeals. The results also indicate that fear appeals motivate adaptive danger control actions such as message acceptance and maladaptive fear control actions such as defensive avoidance or reactance. It appears that strong fear appeals and high-efficacy messages produce the greatest behavior change, whereas strong fear appeals with low-efficacy messages produce the greatest levels of defensive responses. Future directions and practical implications are provided.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Three meta-analyses have tested whether the inclusion of efficacy statements in fear appeals leads to increased effectiveness, and all found support for the weak hypothesis (de Hoog et al., 2007; Mongeau, 1998; Witte & Allen, 2000).”
From Appealing to fear: A meta-analysis of fear appeal effectiveness and theories (2015) · cites this paper as Witte & Allen, 2000
In the citing paper
“The linear and curvilinear models have been tested in prior meta-analyses, and the linear model has consistently been supported by existing data, whereas the curvilinear model has not (e.g., Witte & Allen, 2000).”
From Appealing to fear: A meta-analysis of fear appeal effectiveness and theories (2015) · cites this paper as Witte & Allen, 2000
In the citing paper
“Although some meta-analytic examinations have found positive effects of fear appeals on some outcomes (Witte & Allen, 2000), others have found null effects (de Hoog et al., 2007) or even negative effects (Peters et al., 2012).”
From Appealing to fear: A meta-analysis of fear appeal effectiveness and theories (2015) · cites this paper as Witte & Allen, 2000
In the citing paper
“These results confirm the conclusions of prior meta-analyses concerning the use of efficacy statements (de Hoog et al., 2007; Peters et al., 2012; Witte & Allen, 2000).”
From Appealing to fear: A meta-analysis of fear appeal effectiveness and theories (2015) · cites this paper as Witte & Allen, 2000
In the citing paper
“leads to defensive reactions when they feel helpless to act 8”
From Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response (2020) · cites this paper as [8]
In the citing paper
“appealing to fear leads people to change their behaviour if they feel capable of dealing with the threat”
From Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response (2020) · cites this paper as [8]
In the citing paper
“strong fear appeals with low-efficacy messages produce the greatest levels of defensive responses.”
From Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response (2020) · cites this paper as [8]
In the citing paper
“strong fear appeals produce the greatest behaviour change only when people feel a sense of efficacy”
From Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response (2020) · cites this paper as [8]
In the citing paper
“Conversely, individuals with low GSE may view the same loss-framed messages as intimidating or demotivating, since they do not believe their actions will make a significant difference [45].”
From The power of loss: message framing, climate anxiety, and engagement in personal carbon trading (2025) · cites this paper as [45]
In the citing paper
“This is consistent with previous research and theory on fear appeals, which has found that such appeals increase fear as a mechanism for attitude, intention and behavioural change.87”
From Pictorial cigarette pack warnings: a meta-analysis of experimental studies (2016) · cites this paper as [87]
In the citing paper
“Previous fear appeal research and theory also suggest that fear-oriented communications can elicit reactance.87”
From Pictorial cigarette pack warnings: a meta-analysis of experimental studies (2016) · cites this paper as [87]
In the citing paper
“An early meta-analysis by Witte and Allen [34] revealed that fear appeals can actually increase the perception of the severity of the health threat inducing behaviour changes, at least as long as the individuals believe that they are able to protect themselves and avert the threat.”
From Misinformation lingers in memory: Failure of three pro-vaccination strategies (2017) · cites this paper as [34]
Citations
Cites
The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion
Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60214-2 · Cited by 8,822
DeLamater, J., & Ward, A. (2013) · Handbooks of sociology and social research · doi:10.1007/978-94-007-6772-0 · Cited by 7,590
A Protection Motivation Theory of Fear Appeals and Attitude Change1
Rogers, R. W. (1975) · The Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1080/00223980.1975.9915803 · Cited by 6,805
Chaiken, S. (1980) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.39.5.752 · Cited by 5,516
Handbook of Personality : Theory and Research
Pervin, L. A. (1992) · Cited by 4,543
Putting the fear back into fear appeals: the extended parallel process model
Witte, K. (1992) · Communication Monographs · doi:10.1080/03637759209376276 · Cited by 3,880
Hunter, J., & Schmidt, F. (2004) · doi:10.4135/9781412985031 · Cited by 3,023
Rogers, R. W., & Rogers, R. W. (1983) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 2,577
Protection motivation and self-efficacy: A revised theory of fear appeals and attitude change
Maddux, J. E., & Rogers, R. W. (1983) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/0022-1031(83)90023-9 · Cited by 2,342
(2017) · doi:10.5040/9798400682018.ch-003 · Cited by 2,248
Research works printed but not linked: 22
- Finckenauer JO, 1982, Scared Straight and the Panacea Phenomenon
- Covello V, 1986, Risk Abstracts, 3, 171
- Sutton SR, 1989, Social Behav, 4, 83
- Ben-Sira Z, 1981, Social Sci Med, 15, 105
- Kline K, annual meeting of the Speech Communication Association
- Hale JL, annual meeting of the Speech Communication Association
- Stephenson MT, Public Health Rev, 26, 147
- Rhodes P, 1990, AIDS Educ Prev, 2, 1
- Stout PA, annual meeting of the Speech Communication Association
- Kirscht JP, 1973, Int J Health Educ, 16, 268
- LaTour MS, 1989, J Health Care Marketing, 9, 5
- 10.1037/0022-3514.39.5.752 · DOI · Paper page
- Chaiken S, 1987, Social Influence: The Ontario Symposium (Vol. 5), 3
- Jepson C, 1990, J Social Behav Personality, 5, 61
- 81. Bang HK: The Effectiveness of the Use of Fear Appeals Depicting Legal and Physical Consequences in Anti-Drunk Driving Television Public Service Announcements . Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Michigan State University, 1993.
- Beach RI, 1956, Res Rev, 53
- 90. Carey JC: The Influence of Involvement on Cognitive and Emotional Responses to Fear Appeals . Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Texas at Austin, 1990.
- 91. Chang JL: Emotional Response and the Use of Threat Appeals . Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Texas at Austin, 1989.
- Fruin DJ, 1992, J Abnormal Social Psych, 22, 55
- LaTour M, 1996, J Advertising Res, 28, 59
- Lemieux R, Speech Communication Association Convention
- 125. Rodriguez JI: Confounds in Fear Arousing Persuasive Messages: Do the Paths Less Traveled Make All the Difference? Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Michigan State University, 1995.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 401–500 of 1,006
Extending the Explanatory Utility of the EPPM Beyond Fear-Based Persuasion
Lewis, I. M., Watson, B. C., & White, K. M. (2013) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2013.743430 · Cited by 66
Yoon, H. J., & Kim, Y. J. (2016) · Journal of Promotion Management · doi:10.1080/10496491.2015.1107006 · Cited by 69
Drummond, A., Hall, L. C., Sauer, J. D., & Palmer, M. A. (2018) · Climatic Change · doi:10.1007/s10584-018-2230-2 · Cited by 66
Carey, R. N., & Sarma, K. M. (2016) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3227-2 · Cited by 65
Terror Management Theory and mortality awareness: A missing link in climate response studies?
Wolfe, S. E., & Tubi, A. (2019) · WIREs Climate Change · doi:10.1002/wcc.566 · Cited by 80
Ort, A., & Fahr, A. (2018) · British Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjhp.12310 · Cited by 65
Chen, M. (2020) · Environmental Science and Pollution Research · doi:10.1007/s11356-020-07963-6 · Cited by 75
Coping style and distress in newly incarcerated male adolescents
Brown, S. L., & Ireland, C. A. (2006) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.09.005 · Cited by 66
Mixed Emotional Appeals in Emotional and Danger Control Processes
Carrera, P., Muñoz, D., & Caballero, A. (2010) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2010.521914 · Cited by 65
Mollen, S., Engelen, S., Kessels, L. T. E., & van den Putte, B. (2016) · Journal of Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10810730.2016.1247484 · Cited by 70
The role of the dental team in tobacco cessation
Johnson, N. W. (2004) · European Journal Of Dental Education · doi:10.1111/j.1399-5863.2004.00318.x · Cited by 65
Täuber, S., van Zomeren, M., & Kutlaca, M. (2014) · Climatic Change · doi:10.1007/s10584-014-1200-6 · Cited by 66
EPC RFID tag security weaknesses and defenses
Koscher, K., Juels, A., Brajkovic, V., & Kohno, T. (2009) · ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS) · doi:10.1145/1653662.1653668 · Cited by 65
Abrams, K. M., Leong, K. M., Melena, S., & Teel, T. L. (2019) · Environmental Communication · doi:10.1080/17524032.2019.1649291 · Cited by 62
Hazard and Outrage: Developing a Psychometric Instrument in the Aftermath of Katrina
Lachlan, K. A., & Spence, P. R. (2007) · Journal of Applied Communication Research · doi:10.1080/00909880601065847 · Cited by 64
Thrasher, J. F., Swayampakala, K., Cummings, K. M., Hammond, D. G., Anshari, D., Krugman, D. Μ., & Hardin, J. W. (2016) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.03.006 · Cited by 64
Fallaize, R., Celis-Morales, C. A., Macready, A. L., Marsaux, C. F. M., Forster, H., O’Donovan, C. B., Woolhead, C., San-Cristóbal, R., Kolossa, S., Hallmann, J., et al. (2016) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.3945/ajcn.116.135012 · Cited by 66
Health Risk Perception and Risk Communication
Schmälzle, R., Renner, B., & Schupp, H. T. (2017) · Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1177/2372732217720223 · Cited by 70
An Updated Analysis of Direct-to-Consumer Television Advertisements for Prescription Drugs
Applequist, J., & Ball, J. G. (2018) · The Annals of Family Medicine · doi:10.1370/afm.2220 · Cited by 64
Dynamics of Parent–Adolescent Communication on Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS in Tanzania
Kajula, L. J., Sheon, N. M., de Vries, H., Kaaya, S., & Aarø, L. E. (2013) · AIDS and Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10461-013-0634-6 · Cited by 64
Self-Referenced Fear and Guilt Appeals: The Moderating Role of Self-Construal
Block, L. (2005) · Journal of Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2005.tb02103.x · Cited by 62
Muthoni, A., & Miller, A. N. (2010) · Health Care For Women International · doi:10.1080/07399331003628453 · Cited by 63
Smith, S. W., Rosenman, K. D., Kotowski, M. R., Glazer, E., McFeters, C., Keesecker, N. M., & Law, A. (2008) · Journal of Applied Communication Research · doi:10.1080/00909880801922862 · Cited by 63
Hammond, D. G., Wakefield, M. A., Durkin, S. J., & Brennan, E. (2012) · Nicotine & Tobacco Research · doi:10.1093/ntr/nts202 · Cited by 63
Cologna, V., Bark, R. H., & Paavola, J. (2017) · Climate Risk Management · doi:10.1016/j.crm.2017.04.005 · Cited by 63
Jansen, J., & van Schaik, P. (2018) · International Journal of Human-Computer Studies · doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2018.10.004 · Cited by 77
Teng, Y., & Mak, W. W. S. (2011) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0022023 · Cited by 67
A (Re)defining moment for fear appeals: a comment on Kok et al. (2018)
Roberto, A. J., Mongeau, P. A., & Liu, Y. (2018) · Health Psychology Review · doi:10.1080/17437199.2018.1445546 · Cited by 62
Eder, S. J., Steyrl, D., Stefańczyk, M., Pieniak, M., Molina, J. M., Pešout, O., Binter, J., Smela, P., Scharnowski, F., & Nicholson, A. A. (2021) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0247997 · Cited by 65
“Indeed, the importance of self-efficacy in fear appeal has been repeatedly demonstrated [6].”
BackgroundExamining HPV Threat-to-Efficacy Ratios in the Extended Parallel Process Model
Carcioppolo, N., Jensen, J. D., Wilson, S. R., Collins, W. B., Carrion, M. L., & Linnemeier, G. C. (2013) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2012.719478 · Cited by 61
Sanderson, S. C., Persky, S., & Michie, S. (2009) · Public Health Genomics · doi:10.1159/000217794 · Cited by 62
The Effects of a Computer-Based Pregnancy, STD, and HIV Prevention Intervention: A Nine-School Trial
Roberto, A. J., Zimmerman, R. S., Carlyle, K. E., Abner, E. L., Cupp, P. K., & Hansen, G. L. (2007) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410230701306990 · Cited by 61
Roser‐Renouf, C., Maibach, E. W., & Li, J. S. Y. (2016) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0151558 · Cited by 61
A Terror Management Perspective on the Persuasiveness of Fear Appeals
Shehryar, O., & Hunt, D. M. (2005) · Journal of Consumer Psychology · doi:10.1207/s15327663jcp1504_2 · Cited by 80
Changing Behavior Using Social Cognitive Theory
Łuszczyńska, A., & Schwarzer, R. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108677318.003 · Cited by 81
Putwain, D. W., & Symes, W. (2014) · Social Psychology of Education · doi:10.1007/s11218-014-9249-7 · Cited by 65
Wilson, R. S., Howard, G., & Burnett, E. (2014) · Water Resources Research · doi:10.1002/2013wr015200 · Cited by 60
Barnett, J. C., Timotijević, L., Shepherd, R., & Senior, V. (2006) · Health Policy · doi:10.1016/j.healthpol.2006.10.002 · Cited by 60
Xue, W., Hine, D., Marks, A. D. G., Phillips, W. J., Nunn, P. D., & Zhao, S.-Y. (2016) · Climatic Change · doi:10.1007/s10584-016-1678-1 · Cited by 56
Best Practice in Road Safety Mass Media Campaigns: A Literature Review
Wundersitz, L. N., Hutchinson, T. P., & Woolley, J. E. (2010) · Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide) · Cited by 60
Shin, S., Ki, E., & Griffin, W. G. (2017) · Journal of Marketing Communications · doi:10.1080/13527266.2017.1290671 · Cited by 61
Yang, X., Chen, S., & Lei, Z. (2020) · Sustainable Development · doi:10.1002/sd.2070 · Cited by 59
O’Keefe, D. J., & Hoeken, H. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.664160 · Cited by 73
“…O’Keefe, 2002); cultural tailoring (deep-tailored vs. not-tailored; Hornikx and O’Keefe, 2009); depicted response efficacy (high vs. low; Witte and Allen, 2000); depicted self-efficacy (high vs. low; Witte and Allen, 2000); depicted threat severity (high vs. low; De Hoog et al., 2007);…”
BackgroundInfluentialTwisk, D. A. M., Vlakveld, W. P., Commandeur, J. J. F., Shope, J. T., & Kok, G. (2014) · Accident Analysis & Prevention · doi:10.1016/j.aap.2014.01.002 · Cited by 61
Lee, H., Kwak, N., & Campbell, S. W. (2015) · Communication Research · doi:10.1177/0093650213483824 · Cited by 69
Enhancing Self‐Protective Behavior: Efficacy Beliefs and Peer Feedback in Risk Communication
Verroen, S., Gutteling, J. M., & de Vries, P. W. (2012) · Risk Analysis · doi:10.1111/j.1539-6924.2012.01924.x · Cited by 59
Advances in Alzheimer's imaging are changing the experience of Alzheimer's disease
Stites, S. D., Milne, R., & Karlawish, J. H. (2018) · Alzheimer s & Dementia Diagnosis Assessment & Disease Monitoring · doi:10.1016/j.dadm.2018.02.006 · Cited by 58
Climate Change Activism Among Latino and White Americans
Ballew, M. T., Goldberg, M. H., Rosenthal, S. A., Cutler, M., & Leiserowitz, A. (2019) · Frontiers in Communication · doi:10.3389/fcomm.2018.00058 · Cited by 63
Evaluating the effectiveness of learner controlled information security training
Abraham, S. E., & Chengalur-Smith, I. N. (2019) · Computers & Security · doi:10.1016/j.cose.2019.101586 · Cited by 60
Tabri, N., Hollingshead, S. J., & Wohl, M. J. A. (2020) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/mpbtr · Cited by 59
Leviston, Z., & Uren, H. V. (2019) · Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1111/josi.12365 · Cited by 58
MacFarlane, D., Hurlstone, M. J., & Ecker, U. K. H. (2020) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112790 · Cited by 64
Health tourism: behavioural intention and protection motivation theory
Seow, A. N., Choong, Y. O., Choong, C., & Moorthy, K. (2021) · Tourism Review · doi:10.1108/tr-11-2020-0546 · Cited by 58
Brauner, P., Glawe, F., Liehner, G. L., Vervier, L., & Ziefle, M. (2025) · Technological Forecasting and Social Change · doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2025.124304 · Cited by 58
Dula, C. S., Dwyer, W. O., & LeVerne, G. (2007) · Journal of Safety Research · doi:10.1016/j.jsr.2006.10.007 · Cited by 58
Communicating Healthy Eating: Lessons Learned and Future Directions
Fitzgibbon, M., Gans, K. M., Evans, W. D., Viswanath, K., Johnson‐Taylor, W. L., Krebs‐Smith, S. M., Rodgers, A. B., & Yaroch, A. L. (2007) · Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2006.08.017 · Cited by 58
Muñoz, Y., Chebat, J., & Suissa, A. J. (2010) · Journal of Gambling Studies · doi:10.1007/s10899-010-9182-4 · Cited by 58
Towards a New Model for Communicating Climate Change
van der Linden, S. (2014) · London School of Economics and Political Science Research Online (London School of Economics and Political Science) · Cited by 56
Haq, Z. U., & Hafeez, A. (2009) · Human Resources for Health · doi:10.1186/1478-4491-7-59 · Cited by 58
Campo, S., Askelson, N. M., Spies, E., Boxer, C. F., Scharp, K. M., & Losch, M. E. (2013) · Social Marketing Quarterly · doi:10.1177/1524500413483456 · Cited by 58
Pictorial cigarette pack warnings increase quitting: a comment on Kok et al.
Brewer, N. T., Hall, M. G., & Noar, S. M. (2018) · Health Psychology Review · doi:10.1080/17437199.2018.1445544 · Cited by 58
Klemm, C., Hartmann, T., & Das, E. H. H. J. (2017) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2017.1384429 · Cited by 57
Dual impacts of coronavirus anxiety on mental health in 35 societies
Chen, S. X., Ng, J. C. K., Hui, B. P. H., Au, A. K. Y., Wu, W. C. H., Lam, B. C. P., Mak, W. W. S., & Liu, J. H.-F. (2021) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-021-87771-1 · Cited by 57
Communicating Risks: Examining Hazard and Outrage in Multiple Contexts
Lachlan, K. A., & Spence, P. R. (2010) · Risk Analysis · doi:10.1111/j.1539-6924.2010.01511.x · Cited by 57
Miller, S., Yardley, L., & Little, P. S. (2011) · Psychology Health & Medicine · doi:10.1080/13548506.2011.564188 · Cited by 57
Effects of Game-Like Interactive Graphics on Risk Perceptions and Decisions
Ancker, J. S., Weber, E. U., & Kukafka, R. (2010) · Medical Decision Making · doi:10.1177/0272989x10364847 · Cited by 59
Martinez, K. A., Resnicow, K., Williams, G. C., Silva, M. N., Abrahamse, P. H., Shumway, D. A., Wallner, L. P., Katz, S. J., & Hawley, S. T. (2016) · Patient Education and Counseling · doi:10.1016/j.pec.2016.06.025 · Cited by 72
Appeal to fear in health care: appropriate or inappropriate?
Simpson, J. (2017) · Chiropractic & Manual Therapies · doi:10.1186/s12998-017-0157-8 · Cited by 64
Pedersen, A. F., Forbes, L. J. L., Brain, K. E., Hvidberg, L., Wulff, C. N., Lagerlund, M., Hajdarević, S., Quaife, S. L., & Vedsted, P. (2018) · BMC Cancer · doi:10.1186/s12885-018-4287-8 · Cited by 57
Dachary-Bernard, J., Rey‐Valette, H., & Rulleau, B. (2018) · Journal of Environmental Management · doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.11.104 · Cited by 63
Thrasher, J. F., Osman, A., Abad-Vivero, E. N., Hammond, D. G., Bansal‐Travers, M., Cummings, K. M., Hardin, J. W., & Moodie, C. S. (2014) · Nicotine & Tobacco Research · doi:10.1093/ntr/ntu246 · Cited by 56
Efficacy Information in Media Coverage of Infectious Disease Risks
Evensen, D. T. N., & Clarke, C. E. (2011) · Science Communication · doi:10.1177/1075547011421020 · Cited by 56
Spence, P. R., Lachlan, K. A., Spates, S. A., & Lin, X. (2013) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.12.013 · Cited by 56
Cameron, D. S., Bertenshaw, E. J., & Sheeran, P. (2014) · Health Psychology Review · doi:10.1080/17437199.2014.923164 · Cited by 60
Regulatory fit and health behavior
Üskül, A. K., Keller, J., & Oyserman, D. (2008) · Psychology and Health · doi:10.1080/14768320701360385 · Cited by 56
Chittaro, L. (2015) · IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics · doi:10.1109/tvcg.2015.2443787 · Cited by 57
Determinants of Seeking and Avoiding Risk‐Related Information in Times of Crisis
Gutteling, J. M., & de Vries, P. W. (2016) · Risk Analysis · doi:10.1111/risa.12632 · Cited by 57
Rudert, S. C., & Janke, S. (2021) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/13684302211023562 · Cited by 54
“Importantly, research has demonstrated that subjective threat is influential only if individuals believe in the effectiveness of the promoted protective measures (Witte & Allen, 2000).”
InfluentialDeYoung, S. E., & Peters, M. (2016) · International Journal of Mass Emergencies & Disasters · doi:10.1177/028072701603400204 · Cited by 59
Evidential preferences: cultural appropriateness strategies in health communications
Thompson, V. L. S., Cavazos‐Rehg, P. A., Jupka, K. A., Caito, N., Gratzke, J., Tate, K. Y., Deshpande, A. D., & Kreuter, M. W. (2007) · Health Education Research · doi:10.1093/her/cym029 · Cited by 55
Asimakopoulou, K., Newton, J. T., Daly, B., Kutzer, Y., & Ide, M. (2015) · Journal of Clinical Periodontology · doi:10.1111/jcpe.12377 · Cited by 59
Storey, D., & Sood, S. (2013) · Critical Arts · doi:10.1080/02560046.2013.767015 · Cited by 55
A scoping review into the impact of animal imagery on pro-environmental outcomes
Thomas‐Walters, L., McNulty, C., & Veríssimo, D. (2019) · AMBIO · doi:10.1007/s13280-019-01271-1 · Cited by 63
McLoughlin, N., Howarth, C., & Shreedhar, G. (2023) · Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Climate Change · doi:10.1002/wcc.819 · Cited by 55
Self-Report and Psychophysiological Responses to Fear Appeals
Ordoñana, J. R., Javier, F. G., López, L. E., & Gómez-Amor, J. (2009) · Human Communication Research · doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2009.01344.x · Cited by 55
McKinley, C. J., & Ruppel, E. K. (2014) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2014.01.038 · Cited by 62
Schemer, C. (2011) · Communication Research · doi:10.1177/0093650211427141 · Cited by 55
Perspectives on Health Behavior Theories That Focus on Individuals
Brewer, N. T., & Rimer, B. K. (2008) · Cited by 55
In God's Hands: How Reminders of God Dampen the Effectiveness of Fear Appeals
Wu, E. C., & Cutright, K. M. (2017) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1509/jmr.15.0246 · Cited by 55
Boivin, J., Koert, E., Harris, T., OShea, L., Perryman, A., Parker, K., & Harrison, C. (2018) · Human Reproduction · doi:10.1093/humrep/dey107 · Cited by 57
Prevention and screening efficacy messages in newspaper accounts of cancer
Moriarty, C. M., & Stryker, J. E. (2007) · Health Education Research · doi:10.1093/her/cyl163 · Cited by 55
Hendriks, H., van den Putte, B., & de Bruijn, G. (2013) · Prevention Science · doi:10.1007/s11121-013-0418-2 · Cited by 53
Emotions and the policy process: enthusiasm, anger and fear
Pierce, J. J. (2021) · Policy & Politics · doi:10.1332/030557321x16304447582668 · Cited by 57
Social media as a driver of the use of renewable energy: The perceptions of instagram users in Iran
Zobeidi, T., Komendantova, N., & Yazdanpanah, M. (2021) · Energy Policy · doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112721 · Cited by 62
“In a meta-analysis, Witte and Allen (2000) concluded that EPPM variables can directly affect people ’ s attitudes, intentions, and behavior.”
BackgroundWang, J., & Tsai, N. (2021) · International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction · doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102757 · Cited by 54
Meijers, M. H. C., Wonneberger, A., Azrout, R., Torfadóttir, R. “., & Brick, C. (2022) · Journal of Environmental Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101915 · Cited by 59
“…pro-environmental actions, it is vital that people have strong efficacy and response efficacy beliefs in addition to threat perceptions (Rogers, 1975; Witte, 1992; Witte & Allen, 2000) – as without perceiving a problem, there is no need to act pro-environmental in order to solve the problem.”
BackgroundHow Broadcast Volume and Emotional Content Affect Youth Recall of Anti-Tobacco Advertising
Biener, L., Wakefield, M. A., Shiner, C. M., & Siegel, M. (2008) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2008.03.018 · Cited by 54
Davinson, N., & Sillence, E. (2013) · International Journal of Human-Computer Studies · doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2013.10.003 · Cited by 56
Unintended Effects of a Domestic Violence Campaign
Keller, S. N., Wilkinson, T. J., & Otjen, A. J. (2010) · Journal of Advertising · doi:10.2753/joa0091-3367390404 · Cited by 54
Bennett, R. (2014) · International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing · doi:10.1002/nvsm.1500 · Cited by 54
Metadata
- Authors
- Witte, K., & Allen, M.
- Affiliations
- Michigan State University (US)
- University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (US)
- ORCID
- Allen, Mike
- Venue
- Health Education & Behavior
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2000-10
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 591-615
- ISSN
- 1090-1981 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-6127
- OpenAlex
- W1997092577
- Cited by
- 3,216
- References
- 144
- Citations by year
- 2026: 154 · 2025: 152 · 2024: 141 · 2023: 211 · 2022: 215 · 2021: 269 · 2020: 273 · 2019: 133 · 2018: 154 · 2017: 166 · 2016: 148 · 2015: 156 · 2014: 165 · 2013: 142 · 2012: 119
- FWCI
- 20.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Health Education & Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Social Sciences › Communication › Media Influence and Health
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Risk Perception and Management
- Keywords
- fear appeals, public health campaigns, perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, defensive avoidance, reactance, message acceptance, behavior change, persuasive communication
- MeSH terms
- Fear, Health Education, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Persuasive Communication, Public Health
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
