More Than a Feeling? An Experimental Study of the Persuasive Effects of Emotional Tone in Online Advocacy Videos

• In Event: The Study of Persuasion in Mass Communication

Abstract

Abstract: Using experimental design (N=152), this study investigated the persuasive effects of emotional tone used in online advocacy videos (fear, humor, control). Findings indicate both fear and humor positively affect behavioral intention to engage in environmentally conscious behaviors. Mediation analysis of the antecedent variables in the theory of planned behavior model revealed significant, though different, indirect effects of each form of emotional appeal through one or more of these potential mediators on behavioral intention.

Authors

• Geah Nicole Pressgrove, West Virginia University

• Robert McKeever, University of South Carolina

• Erik Collins, U of South Carolina