fear appeal

a persuasive message that is designed to alter attitudes by producing fear in the recipient. Such messages are most effective when they provide compelling arguments for the likelihood of negative outcomes if a certain advocated measure is not adopted, and when the arguments make a strong case that adopting the measure will eliminate the threat. See also affectively based persuasion.

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Psychology term of the day

November 28th 2024

complementary classification

in classification tasks, the grouping of items from conceptually different categories into a superordinate class based on an individual’s mental associations from past experience. For example, cow, tractor, and farmer may be grouped because they are all found on a farm. Also called functional classification; schematic classification; thematic classification. Compare conceptual classification; idiosyncratic classification; perceptual classification.