Shock Tactics and the Myth of the Inverted U

Articles
Sutton, S. (1992). Shock tactics and the myth of the inverted U. British Journal of Addiction, 87, 4, 517-519.
Discusses the use of "fear appeals" or fear-arousing communications as agents of mass change in attitudes and behavior. Studies using videotapes about smoking and seat belt use ha…

The Role of Vivid Information in Fear Appeals and Attitude Change

Articles
Sherer, M. & Rogers, R. W. (1984). The role of vivid information in fear appeals and attitude change. Journal of Research in Personality, 18, 3, 321-334.
Investigated the persuasive impact of 3 types of vivid information frequently used in fear appeals (emotional interest, concreteness, and proximity), using 80 undergraduates who d…

Increasing the Persuasiveness of Fear Appeals: The Effect of Arousal and Elaboration

Articles
Keller, P. A. & Block, L. G. (1995). Increasing the persuasiveness of fear appeals: The effect of arousal and elaboration. Journal of Consumer Research, 22, 4, 448-459.
Investigates conditions under which messages that prompt low and high levels of fear are likely to be effective. A low level of fear should be ineffective, due to insufficient ela…

Fear Appeals and the Formation of Active Publics

Articles
Roser, C. & Thompson, M. (1995). Fear appeals and the formation of active publics. Journal of Communication, 45, 1, 103-121.
Examined the process through which a fear appeal may transform low-involvement audiences into active publics. Cognitive and emotional responses of 102 uninvolved undergraduate vie…

The Transsituational Influence of Social Norms

Articles
Reno, R. R., Cialdini, R. B. & Kallgren, C. A. (1993). The transsituational influence of social norms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 1, 104-112.
Three studies examined the behavioral implications of a conceptual distinction between 2 types of social norms: descriptive norms, which specify what is typically done in a given …

Littering: A New Unobtrusive Measure of Attitude

Articles
Cialdini, R. B. & Baumann, D. J. (1981). Littering: A new unobtrusive measure of attitude. Social Psychology Quarterly, 44, 3, 254-259.
In Exp I, 227 voters' choices of presidential candidate were assessed, and their decisions to litter a parking lot with a campaign flier placed on their car windshield were observ…

Litter in a University Cafeteria: Demographic Data and the Use of Prompts as an Intervention Strategy

Articles
Durdan, C. A., Reeder, G. D. & Hecht, P. R. (1985). Litter in a university cafeteria: Demographic data and the use of prompts as an intervention strategy. Environment and Behavior, 17, 3, 387-404.
Investigated the effectiveness of posted feedback as a litter control strategy in a university cafeteria in the absence of written prompts. Patronage and litter rates were monitor…

Norms of Social Conduct and the Foot-in-the-Door

Articles
Kilbourne, B. K. & Kilbourne, M. T. (1984). Norms of social conduct and the foot-in-the-door. Journal of Social Psychology, 123, 1, 13-20.
Using an account analysis (giving excuses or justifications for compliance or noncompliance) to indicate the operation of social norms, the foot-in-the-door (FITD) paradigm was in…

Ecologically Friendly Buying--Theoretical Implications of a Phenomenological Perspective

Articles
Soler, C. (1996). Ecologically friendly buying--theoretical implications of a phenomenological perspective. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 12, 3, 275-289.
Presents an alternative approach to the study of ecologically friendly buying. The results of an empirical pilot study of 47 consumers are presented, showing that personal experie…

Prompting Anti-Litter Behaviors

Articles
Geller, E. S. (1973). Prompting anti-litter behaviors. Proceedings of the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, 907-908.
Gave a handbill to Ss entering a grocery store and 2 movie theaters. The handbills either did or did not contain a general or specific antilitter statement. Paper cups of lemonade…

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