Fear appeal effectiveness in antismoking campaigns: do anger and smoking matter?

Although fear appeals are widely used in health campaigns, empirical studies have produced conflicting results regarding their effectiveness. To understand the impact of fear appeal in health campaigns, this study investigates the relationship between fear, anger, and smoking status in the context of an antismoking campaign. Using a survey of 829 people in South Korea, this study tests the three-way interactive model with the PROCESS macro. Results indicate that the effect of fear on attitudes toward the campaign depends on the level of anger, and show that the impact of 'anger-adjusted' additional fear appears only among nonsmokers. Implications for antismoking advertising strategies are discussed.