Internal External Locus of Control as a Moderator of Fear Appeals

Burnett, J. J. (1981). Internal external locus of control as a moderator of fear appeals. Journal of Applied Psychology, 66, 3, 390-393.

161 midwestern US residents responded to a questionnaire that contained Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, 1 of 4 fear messages, and scales measuring attitudes and intentions. Determination of the 4 fear messages was developed through 2 pretests using randomly selected judges. The subject of the fear messages was a health maintenance organization. ANOVA indicated that level of fear appeal and locus of control predicted attitude and intention. There was, however, no significant interaction. At all levels of fear appeal, external Ss tended to react more favorably to the message.

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