A Cross-Cultural Investigation of Individual Versus Group-Based Fear Appeals Effects of Culturally-Tailored Threat and Self-Efficacy on Perceived Threat, Perceived Self-efficacy, and Behavioral Intention

• In Event: New Research on Fear Appeals in Health Contexts

Abstract

This study examined how culturally-designed health messages, particularly with regard to individualism and collectivism, influence perceptions of individuals from different cultures and cultural orientations in context of smoking cessation. The overall findings indicate that people perceive the same message differently depending on their countries or cultural orientation. Specifically, American participants reported a greater level of threat and had more positive attitudes toward the messages than Korean participants, whereas Korean participants expressed greater intention of joining the suggested smoking cessation programs than American participants. Moreover, individualistic group of people perceived less threat, self-efficacy, and had more negative attitude toward the messages than the collectivistic group. Other additional findings addressed the importance of understanding cultural influence on fear appeals. However, further future research is required to better understand these relationships.

Authors

• Sanguk Lee, Michigan State U - Department of Communication

• Nichole Egbert, Kent State U

• Donghun Chung, Kwangwoon U