Fear arousal Flashcards
What are the 3 theories of persuasion?
Fear arousal
Elaboration likelihood model
Hoveland and Yale
Who introduced fear arousal?
Janis and Feshbach (1953)
What idea is fear arousal based on?
You can change people’s Barbour by creating fear in participants
How does fear arousal work?
The advert/information causes psychological and physiological fear. We resend by changing ur behaviour and get the benefit of avoiding the fear (negative reinforcement)
What type of fear did Janis and Fleshbach thing would be the most responsive?
A moderate amount of fear. Low fear will not affect participants and high fear can cause denial.
What was the aim of Janis and Feshbach (1953) study?
To see if a fear arousing messages cause behavioural change. (E.g denial)
What was the procedure of Janis and Feshbach (1953) study?
2000 students were randomly assigned and matched for age, gender and intelligence
They were given 3 different 15 minute lectures
a) strong fear arousal – tooth decay THIS COULD HAPPEN TO YOU!
b) Moderate fear arousal – These are things you need to be aware of
c) Minimum fear arousal – ‘these are teeth’ (factual information only)
What was the findings of Janis and Feshbach (1953) study?
Those watching the strong fear lecture - 42% were anxious but only 8% changed their behaviour
Those watching moderate fear lecture - 22% changed their behaviour
Those watching minimum fear lecture x 24% were anxious and 36% changed their behaviour. This disapproved Janis and Fleshbach theory that moderate would be the best and high and low would be bad meaning the fear arousal model is flawed p.
Why does too much fear not work?
It can backfire And cause denial
What was the conclusion of Janis and Feshbach (1953) study?
Minimum fear works best and moderate but not high
What are the strengths of the fear arousal model?
It shows actions and not just people’s intentions
What are the weaknesses of the fear arousal model?
No models have he same results. The have opposite. High fear = high behavioural change
