Putting the Fear Back into Fear Appeals: The Extended Parallel Process Model

Witte, K. (1992). Putting the fear back into fear appeals: The extended parallel process model. Communication Monographs, 59, 4, 329-349.

Based on H. Leventhal's (1970) danger control/fear control framework, a fear appeal theory is proposed, called the extended parallel process model (EPPM). The purpose of the EPPM is to explain why fear appeals fail to re-incorporate fear as a central variable and to specify the relationship between threat and efficacy in propositional forms. By consolidating the earlier theoretical views of I. L. Janis (1967), Leventhal (1970), and R. W. Rogers (1975, 1983), the EPPM argues that fear leads to message rejection and that cognitions, such as perceived threat and efficacy, lead to message acceptance. Threat determines the intensity of response, whereas efficacy determines the nature of the response.

Find this article online
Site Courtesy of
McKenzie-Mohr & Associates

Expertise in Community-Based Social Marketing