Converting the unconverted: the effect of inclination and opportunity to discount health-related fear appeals.

Two experiments indicated that the conventional wisdom for designing fear appeals, higher fear arousal, and a consequences-recommendations ordering, was more persuasive for adherents, or those who were already following the advocated recommendations. Instead, lowering the level of fear arousal and reversing the order of the consequences and recommendations were more effective for persuading the unconverted. The unconverted were more persuaded by the latter message format because it reduced the level of message discounting. Specifically, unconverted participants who received either a low fear appeal or recommendations preceding consequences perceived themselves to be more susceptible, perceived the consequences as more severe, regarded the recommendations as more efficacious, believed they were more able to follow the recommendations, and were less likely to refute the message claims.