Cultural orientation and the persuasive effects of fear appeals: The case of anti-smoking public service announcements

Abstract

A core dimension of cultural orientation is the extent to which a country is individualistic versus collectivistic. The purpose of this study is to examine whether the extent that one is individualistic moderates the persuasive effects of fear appeals in anti-smoking public service announcements. A total of 129 undergraduates in the United States and South Korea participated in an experiment designed to test the hypothesis that individualists respond better to an anti-smoking PSA with emphasis on an individualistic fear appeal, whereas a PSA stressing a collectivistic fear appeal is more effective among collectivists. The results supported the hypothesis, implying that fear appeals in anti-smoking PSAs should address the target audience's cultural orientation. The study also showed that an individual's cultural orientation is not necessarily determined by their country of origin. That is, the effects of fear appeals were moderated by the individual's internalized cultural orientation, not their country of origin per se. The study closes with commentary on the scholarly and practical implications of the findings. © The Author(s) 2012 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.