Communications that are fear-based (e.g., messages about the dangers of smoking) are not always ...

Possible Response Points:
 Fear-based messages are ineffective when they are too scary- causing the audience to become defensive, feel paralyzed, and/or block them out. They can also be ineffective for the same reasons that other types of messages are ineffective (e.g., because the communicator is not trustworthy).
 These messages are maximally effective when they
 Speak to an audience that is actually susceptible to the dangers being addressed
 Instruct the audience on how to avoid the dangers being addressed (or speak to an audience that is already aware of how to do so)
 Elicit moderate levels of fear (rather than very low or very high levels of fear)
 Make use of pictures rather than just words