Emotions of Fear, Guilt Or Shame in Anti-Alcohol Messages: Measuring Direct Effects on Persuasion and the Moderating Role of Sensation Seeking

We study the effects of fear, shame and guilt on persuasiveness of anti-alcohol messages among young people. We experimentally test three distinct messages, each one focusing on one of the three negative emotions using a total sample of more than a thousand students. Results show that all three messages have a positive impact on persuasion and that the stimulation of shame is very effective in the case of anti-alcohol abuse advertising directed at young people. We demonstrate that sensation seeking moderates the impact of negative emotions on persuasion in the case of fear and shame appeals.

Citation:

Imene BECHEUR, Hayan DIB, Dwight MERUNKA, and Pierre VALETTE-FLORENCE (2007) ,"Emotions of Fear, Guilt Or Shame in Anti-Alcohol Messages: Measuring Direct Effects on Persuasion and the Moderating Role of Sensation Seeking", in E - European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 8, eds. Stefania Borghini, Mary Ann McGrath, and Cele Otnes, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 99-106.