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Fear appeals are "persuasive messages designed to scare people by describing the terrible things that will happen to them if they do not do what the message recommends" ([67] Witte, 1992, p. 329). Fear appeals have often been studied in social marketing contexts such as traffic safety and health communications ([7] Cauberghe et al. , 2009; [15] Dillard and Anderson, 2004; [34] Kirby, 2006; [35] Laros and Steenkamp, 2004; [43] O'Grady, 2006; [61] Taubman Ben-Ari et al. , 2000). Most studies have limited themselves to studying the impact of various levels of threat strength on cognitive appraisal variables (such as perceived threat and perceived response efficacy), on evoked fear and on message acceptance. The extent to which other message elements or contextual factors have an impact on these cognitive and emotional responses is seldom studied ([2] Arthur and Quester, 2004; [14] Dickinson and Holmes, 2008; [56] Sabanne et al. , 2009; [72] Wong and Cappella, 2009).
Issue familiarity appears to be a relevant moderator in this context. Information learning develops differently depending on product or issue familiarity or previous experience ([8] Cho and Salmon, 2007; [30] Johnson and Russo, 1984; [60] Tanner et al. , 1991). [42] Nabi et al. (2008) state that the level of prior knowledge is an important audience characteristic to consider when designing a threat appeal. Although some authors have touched upon the relevance of familiarity ([4] Borawski et al. , 2005; [41] Miles et al. , 2005; [46] Ordonana et al. , 2009; [66] Wheatley, 1971), the link with fear appeals has seldom been studied. Message tactics may have a significant influence on persuasion ([32] Keller and Lehman, 2008). More particularly, the amount of information provided in the message about the familiar or unfamiliar threat is a relevant variable. Prior knowledge and experience (i.e. about familiar products or issues) facilitates learning and may have a positive impact on the processing of new relevant information ([6] Campbell and Keller, 2003; [18] Edell and Mitchell, 1978).
The present study investigates to what extent fear appeals varying in graphic threat strength have a different effect on individuals' appraisal of the severity of the threat, depending on the amount of relevant information that is provided and on whether the issue advertised is a...