Erin McElhone 3rd Period: The use of Fear in Campaigning

     The government has been using fear in public health campaigns for many years. This form of advertising is also a controversial topic, the terrible photos of someone dying of lung cancer can prevent others from picking up a cigarette but they are also argued to be too alarming and morally objectionable. There have been many conflicting studies about the topic of fear using in campaigning. For example, one study posted in Psychological Bulletin said that the study authors found few situations where fear-infused appeals were not effective and they wrote,"no identified circumstances under which they backfire," Public Heath Experts, however, call caution to the use of fear. A study by The Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health looked at New York's use of fear in appeals (mostly regarding smoking, HIV, and obesity,) what they found was that whether it was acceptable or distasteful depended on the social norms. The use of fear has been shown to only go so far. "Fear appeals can produce some movement, but long-term changes to behavior patterns are often produced by changes in skills," a psychologist professor says, offering the example of smokers. People don't continue to smoke because they are immune from fearing the consequences, but rather because they don't know how to stop or can't.

     This article could  be compared to a number of things: political campaigns, public service announcements, the temperance movement, many other social reforms, and basically any time when the worst possible outcome of an event is shown to an audience and in response the audience either stops an activity or does something to prevent the activity. I think that the use of fear in our advertising is to an extent is okay, but it depends on the social customs in that area. For instance, during the HIV campaign in 2010 aimed at reminding men who have sex with men that even if treatment can control HIV and save their life, "When you get HIV, it's never just HIV." The campaign warned that HIV can also lead to conditions like bone loss, dementia and anal cancer. This campaign did not just used to estrange an action, like smoking, it was directed at a specific group of people that were already suffering at that time, the reason this campaign was not appropriate because it estranging them personally.

find article here