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Updated: Apr 20, 2026

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat
Published on: September 12, 2014
Are you Scared Yet?: Evaluating Fear Appeal Messages in Tweets about the Tips Campaign
Sherry L Emery1, Glen Szczypka1, Eulàlia Puig Abril1
1Health Media Collaboratory, Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
Abstract:
In March 2012, the CDC launched "Tips from Former Smokers," a $54 million national campaign featuring individuals experiencing long-term health consequences of smoking. The campaign approach was based on strong evidence that anti-tobacco ads portraying fear, graphic images, and personal testimonials are associated with attitudinal and behavior change. Yet it was also controversial; critics cited the danger that viewers might reject such intensely graphic messages. Tasked with informing this debate, our study analyzes the corpus of Tips campaign-related tweets obtained via the Twitter Firehose. We provide a novel and rigorous method for media campaign evaluation within the framework of the Extended Parallel Process Model. Among the relevant Tweets, 87% showed evidence of message acceptance, while 7% exhibited message rejection.
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