After 2.5 years of avoiding COVID, I finally saw those two little dreaded lines appear on my 15-minute rapid test a couple of days ago. It sends me back to the emotions of the beginning of the pandemic and I am reminded of the intense fear that seemed to permeate existence. While it may have not been fully intentional, it seems that fear appeals were a substantial tactic employed to control behavior to prevent the spread of the virus. Looking back now, I wonder about the true impacts of these fear appeals and if there was a better way to encourage safe practices. Were these fear appeals actually effective in mitigating the spread of disease?
Fear appeals refer to a persuasive tactic in which a message is made to activate fear with the intention of encouraging or discouraging certain behaviors (Gruman et al., 2017). One significant example of a failed use of fear appeals includes the widely implemented D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program. I remember representatives of the D.A.R.E. program visiting my elementary school classrooms in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade, impressing the dangers of drugs on me and my peers through fear-based tactics such as negative imagery depicting the effects of drugs and lists of the health problems each drug could cause. Upon examining the impact of this program though, multiple studies report that the D.A.R.E. program had no long-term effect on drug use (Lynam et al., 1999). Other studies suggest mixed results regarding the effectiveness of fear appeals, demonstrating that they can be beneficial under certain conditions.
One of the suggestions regarding why fear appeals are not always effective involves the impact that they tend to have on an individual. Specifically, fear seems to have a larger impact on an individual’s intention of changing their behavior but does not dictate if an individual will actually implement behavior change (Gruman et al., 2017). With this in mind, there are specific tactics that can be implemented to make a fear message more impactful. These include creating a clear message about what behaviors will lead to the negative consequence(s) being discussed, demonstrating that the consequences are a real threat and can happen to the individuals of interest, discussing specific behaviors that should be used to avoid this consequence, and encouraging individuals to realize their capability to implement this behavior change (Gruman et al., 2017).
When applying these tactics to the COVID pandemic in the United States, there seems to be some room where improvement could have been made to effectively utilize fear appeals as a tool. For example, COVID was downplayed at the very beginning of the pandemic, with certain influential figures suggesting that it was not something to worry about. However, as the pandemic worsened, these fear appeals changed, which is most notably seen with the CDC’s approach to the pandemic. Specifically, the CDC made it clear that COVID was a real threat that could have negative impacts on anyone that comes in contact with the virus. They explained that dangerous behaviors, such as close contact with other individuals and unnecessary outings, increased an individual’s risk of catching the disease. They encouraged specific behaviors, including social distancing and mask-wearing, to help curb the spread of disease. The largest obstacle seemed to emerge in trying to convince people they were capable of making these changes. There was a lot of resistance among different groups, with political division creating barriers that made implementing this behavior change on a large scale more difficult. Masks were politicized and some even suggested that the virus was a hoax. While considering this, it becomes evident that creating an effective fear appeal is not as straightforward as it seems. Different individuals may have no desire to change their behavior, even if all other requirements for impactful fear appeals are met.
In conclusion, fear appeals often have the potential to create positive change, but specific requirements are needed to increase effectiveness. Even when these requirements are met, there is always a chance for resistance to the behavior that is being encouraged. In such a complex world, it is nearly impossible to account for all of the different types of reactions that fear appeals will elicit from the public. Fear appeals did seem to work on some level regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, as many people participated in behaviors encouraged by the CDC such as mask-wearing and social distancing. With these considerations in mind, it seems that the main goal of fear appeals should focus on encouraging as much of the desired behavior change within the population as possible while accepting that there will likely be certain individuals or groups resistant to these changes.
References
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). Sage Publications, Inc.
Lynam, D. R., Milich, R., Zimmerman, R., Novak, S. P., Logan, T. K., Martin, C., Leukefeld, C., & Clayton, R. (1999). Project DARE: No effects at 10-year follow-up. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67(4), 590–593. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.67.4.590
I too took a rapid test and saw after 15 minutes those two dreadful line and instant panic sunk to the pit of my stomach but why was I so afraid, was it for myself or the ones around me. I’m a 22-year-old perfectly healthy individual who should have nothing to fear from this disease but yet the fear appeal arose a certain response in me. A certain response that was conditioned in my brain from all of the information I had been told over these years. These fear-based tactics were used to help stop the spread of COVID 19 but did the scare tactic due more harm than good. I believe all of us in the moment thought that the news had our best interest at heart but now looking back I believe the fear appeals were not as effective because they were only able to dictate the behavior of the individuals for a short period of time.
References
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.). Sage Publications, Inc.
Lynam, D. R., Milich, R., Zimmerman, R., Novak, S. P., Logan, T. K., Martin, C., Leukefeld, C., & Clayton, R. (1999). Project DARE: No effects at 10-year follow-up. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67(4), 590–593. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.67.4.590
I agree that specific requirements are needed to increase the effectiveness of fear appeals. Fear appeals are effective for some people, but I think evidence-based strategies need to be implemented.
I found an article about fear appeals in health communication. For example, it explains that if the goal is to encourage the use of face masks to prevent infection, it is important to provide educational brochures and specific information about why it is essential to use masks, where they should be used, and how to use and store them (Stolow et al., 2020). It is critical to effectively communicate the importance of wearing masks through step-by-step explanations, as it is undeniable that communicating fear more than necessary may be counterproductive. By doing so, it would be possible to influence people’s behavior.
Resources
Stolow, J. A., Moses, L. M., Lederer, A. M., & Carter, R. (2020). How fear appeal approaches in covid-19 health communication may be harming the global community. Health Education & Behavior, 47(4), 531–535. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198120935073