Protection Motivation and Self-Efficacy: A revised Theory of Fear Appeals and Attitude Change

Investigated the effects of fear appeals on persuasion in a factorial experiment that was designed to test a combined model of protection motivation theory and self-efficacy theory. 153 undergraduate smokers read a series of bogus educational essays that varied in the stated probability and seriousness of smoking-related health consequences, the effectiveness of smoking cessation in reducing this risk, and self-efficacy in controlling smoking behavior. As predicted, the probability of a threat's occurrence and the effectiveness of a coping response both had positive main effects on reported intentions to stop smoking. Findings also support self-efficacy expectancy as a 4th component of protection motivation theory: Self-efficacy had a direct influence on intentions and interacted with 2 other variables of protection motivation theory--probability of occurrence and effectiveness of coping responses. The interaction effect was interpreted in terms of 2 new decision-making strategies that people use when confronted with a fear appeal: precaution and hyperdefensiveness. In addition, results replicate previous findings on the relationship between self-efficacy expectancy and outcome expectancy. A model incorporating protection motivation theory and self-efficacy theory is presented as a possible general model of attitude change. (18 ref)