Comments - Fear appeals

Michael S. LaTour and Jeff Tanner

This Comments section looks at the subject of fear appeals in advertising. Michael LaTour argues that a broader approach to understanding fear arousals is necessary, and that further study outside North America is also needed if understanding of the subject is to further develop.

Comments – Fear appeals

Professor John FordOld Dominion University, Virginia, USA

The subject for this issue's Comments section is the use of fear appeals and the subject of fear arousal in advertising. Two significant authors who have focused on this subject are Mike LaTour at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and Jeff Tanner at Baylor University. I asked both to discuss where we are at present in our understanding of this important subject and what the implications are for both theory development and practice. Mike LaTour raises the suggestion that arousal should be examined as a multidimensional...

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