The impact of fear versus state empathy on persuasion and social stigma

The study investigated the impact of fear and state empathy on persuasion and social stigma. Eighteen professionally produced public service announcements (PSAs) were employed as stimuli in a 2 (message topic: antidrug vs. safe driving) x 3 (message type: empathy vs. fear vs. control) x 3 (messages) mixed-design experiment. Participants (N = 406) were randomly assigned to one of the 6 cells and watched the 3 videos in that condition. Multilevel structural equation modeling analyses showed that fear and state empathy both had positive direct effects on persuasion. Fear led to more affective stigma, whereas state empathy reduced cognitive stigma. Fear also resulted in stronger reactance which decreased persuasion; conversely, empathy mitigated reactance, hence had a positive indirect effect on persuasion.