Effects of a Fear Appeal on Arousal,Self-Reported Anxiety,and Attitude towards Smoking

This paper describes the effects of an anti-smoking film on level of arousal and anxiety in a group of smokers and nonsmoking control. The aims of the study were threefold: to determine whether a fear appeal of this kind would increase arousal; to examine the relationship between self-reported, behavioral, and somatic responses to this type of fear appeal; and to assess the extent to which responses were influenced by consistent individual differences in the reporting of emotional states. The results indicated that a close correspondence existed between the self-reported and somatic measures of anxiety and that smokers showed a greater increase in anxiety than nonsmokers. Individual differences in reporting of emotional state were not related to somatic responses. Over-all, fear appeals of the type used here may be useful in manipulating level of anxiety and attitudes towards smoking.