The pairing of the fear appeal with information about where and when students could get vaccinated increased the effectiveness of fear appeals in getting students to go and get vaccinated, according to a study in which researchers (Leventhal and colleagues) attempted to increase the number of students who went to get tetanus vaccines.
Howard Leventhal, a social psychologist from Yale University in the United States, recruited a group of 30 senior students to take part in what they believed to be an experiment on the evaluation of a public health leaflet in the middle of the 1960s. The effectiveness of the tetanus pamphlet, as it was known, in conveying the risks of tetanus and the significance of immunisation was to be assessed. To that end, the students attentively read the booklet, analysed its information, and completed the evaluation report. When they were finished, they gave it to the experimenter and continued living their lives as if the experiment had ended. However, the experiment had only barely started.
While Leventhal genuinely attempted to gauge the pamphlet's persuasiveness, his yardstick of success was not how convincing the participants perceived it to be, but rather how it actually changed their behaviour. He was interested in how many of the participants would ultimately receive immunizations. He distributed various leaflets to the various students to add variety. The persons in the "high fear" group were given pamphlets that used strong language to explain the dangers of getting tetanus as well as graphic, terrifying photos of what it could do to victims. The experimenters softened the words and removed the upsetting images for those in the low fear group.
Leventhal was interested in determining whether the pamphlet's increased use of fear would result in more people seeking immunisation. After checking in with the clinic on a regular basis for more than a month, Leventhal discovered that only one member of the group had received the vaccination. The fear appeal, and particularly the strong fear appeal, failed to influence the participants to get immunised beyond terrifying the living daylights out of them. Leventhal was unable to determine why this had occurred. Leventhal examined the evaluations they submitted to determine whether this was the case. He was shocked to learn from the reports that the students not only grasped the nature and seriousness of tetanus but also the value of getting vaccinated. Additionally, the studies showed that the majority of kids planned to get immunised. Despite having the best of intentions, just one participant really carried through their plans.
The pamphlet was a total failure by any standard. Then Leventhal made an attempt to include detailed information on how to handle the tetanus risk. He stated the hours the university medical centre offered the free tetanus injections and attached a map of the facility. This time, the proportion of participants who received vaccinations increased from a pitiful 3.3% to an impressive 33%, demonstrating a tenfold increase in the power of persuasion. Leventhal came to the conclusion that persuasive messages using fear appeals require explicitly listed, specific, and clear steps the audience can take to deal with the threat being presented.
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