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Published on: September 12, 2014
Threat Appeals: The Fear-Persuasion Relationship is Linear and Curvilinear
James Price Dillard1, Ruobing Li2, Yan Huang2
1a Department of Communication Arts and Sciences , Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract:
Drive theory may be seen as the first scientific theory of health and risk communication. However, its prediction of a curvilinear association between fear and persuasion is generally held to be incorrect. A close rereading of Hovland et al. reveals that within- and between-persons processes were conflated. Using a message that advocated obtaining a screening for colonoscopy, this study (N = 259) tested both forms of the inverted-U hypothesis. In the between-persons data, analyses revealed a linear effect that was consistent with earlier investigations. However, the data showed an inverted-U relationship in within-persons data. Hence, the relationship between fear and persuasion is linear or curvilinear depending on the level of analysis.
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Correlation
Two variables, for example, a and b, are said to be positively correlated if both variables move in the same direction. In other words, a positive correlation exists between two variables, a and b, if:

