Effects of horrific fear appeals on public attitudes towards AIDS
Roger Bennett
Participants in an attitude change experiment completed questionnaires concerning AIDS. Certain groups were then exposed to a fear-neutral depiction of the AIDS problem, others to a frightening representation, and the remainder to a horrifically fearsome image. Subjects again filled in the questionnaire one week and eight weeks later. Attitude changes were recorded with respect to respondents' personality type (determined via two well-known personality assessment instruments) and other characteristics. Individuals with future hedonistic and/or low self-esteem traits exhibited relatively strong responses to the horrific fear-inducing message. Prior knowledge of...