Editing Appeal to fear

{{Short description|Logical fallacy}}
{{refimprove|date=August 2015}}
An '''appeal to fear''' (also called '''''argumentum ad metum'''''<!-- or ad metum? yes metum is the correct form in latin--> or '''''argumentum in terrorem''''') is a [[fallacy]] in which a person attempts to create support for an idea by attempting to increase fear towards an alternative. An appeal to fear is related to the broader strategy of [[fear appeal]] and is a common tactic in [[marketing]], [[politics]], and [[media (communication)]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://changingminds.org/disciplines/argument/fallacies/fallacies_alpha.htm|title=Full alphabetic list of Fallacies|access-date=17 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tannenbaum |first1=Melanie B. |last2=Hepler |first2=Justin |last3=Zimmerman |first3=Rick S. |last4=Saul |first4=Lindsey |last5=Jacobs |first5=Samantha |last6=Wilson |first6=Kristina |last7=Albarracín |first7=Dolores |title=Appealing to fear: A meta-analysis of fear appeal effectiveness and theories. |journal=Psychological Bulletin |date=November 2015 |volume=141 |issue=6 |pages=1178–1204 |doi=10.1037/a0039729|pmc=5789790 }}</ref>

==Logic==
This fallacy has the following [[argument form]]:

:Either P or Q is true.
:Q is frightening.
:Therefore, P is true.

The argument is invalid. The [[appeal to emotion]] is used in exploiting existing fears to create support for the speaker's proposal, namely P.  Also, often the [[false dilemma]] fallacy is involved, suggesting Q is the proposed idea's sole alternative.<ref>{{Citation|title=Zweiter Beratungsgegenstand: Die Steuerung des Verwaltungshandelns durch Haushaltsrecht und Haushaltskontrolle|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9783110871104.147|work=Kulturauftrag im staatlichen Gemeinwesen. Die Steuerung des Verwaltungshandelns durch Haushaltsrecht und Haushaltskontrolle|year=1984 |place=Berlin, Boston|publisher=DE GRUYTER|doi=10.1515/9783110871104.147 |isbn=9783110871104 |access-date=2022-02-22|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Fear, uncertainty and doubt==
[[Fear, uncertainty and doubt]] (FUD) is the appeal to fear in [[sales]] or [[marketing]]; in which a company disseminates negative (and vague) information on a competitor's product. The term originated to describe misinformation tactics in the [[computer hardware]] industry and has since been used more broadly. FUD is "implicit coercion" by "any kind of [[disinformation]] used as a competitive weapon."<ref>{{cite web |author=Raymond, Eric S |author-link=Eric S. Raymond |url=http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/F/FUD.html |work=The Jargon File |title=FUD}}</ref>{{Unreliable source|date=February 2016}} FUD creates a situation in which buyers are encouraged to purchase by [[brand recognition|brand]], regardless of the relative technical merits. Opponents of certain large computer corporations{{who|date=November 2011}} state that the spreading of fear, uncertainty, and doubt is an [[unethical]] marketing technique that these corporations consciously employ.

==As persuasion==
[[Fear appeal]]s are often used in [[marketing]] and [[social policy]], as a method of [[persuasion]]. Fear is an effective tool to change attitudes,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://issuu.com/martijnboermans/docs/boermans_2009_-_thesis_fear_appeals|title=ISSUU - Fear Appeals and Persuasion by Martijn Boermans|author=Martijn Boermans|work=Issuu|access-date=17 June 2015}}</ref>{{Unreliable source|date=February 2016}} which are moderated by the motivation and ability to process the fear message. Examples of fear appeal include reference to [[social exclusion]], and getting laid-off from one's job,<ref name="cons">Solomon. Zaichkowsky, Polegato. Consumer Behaviour Pearson, Toronto. 2005</ref> getting cancer from smoking or involvement in car accidents and driving.

Fear appeals are ''[[monotonic function|nonmonotonic]]'', meaning that the level of persuasion does not always increase when the claimed danger is increased. A study of public service messages on AIDS found that if the messages were too aggressive or fearful, they were rejected by the subject; a moderate amount of fear is the most effective [[attitude (psychology)|attitude]] changer.<ref name="cons" />

Others argue that it is not the level of fear that is decisive changing attitudes via the persuasion process. Rather, as long as a scare-tactics message includes a recommendation to cope with the fear, it can work.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/dissertations/1975035/inhoud.htm|title=How fear appeals work : motivational biases in the processing of fear-arousing health communications|access-date=17 June 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
*[[Appeal to emotion]]
*[[Argumentum ad baculum|Appeal to force]]
*[[Culture of fear]]
*[[Demagogue]]
*[[Embrace, extend and extinguish]]
*[[Fear appeal]]
*[[Fear mongering]]
*[[List of fallacies]]
*[[Moral panic]]
*[[Red Scare]]
*[[Scareware]]
*[[The terrorists have won]]
{{Div col end}}

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [http://www.propagandacritic.com/articles/ct.sa.fear.html Propaganda critic: Fear appeal]

{{Fallacies}}
{{Propaganda}}

[[Category:Appeals to emotion|Fear]]
[[Category:Marketing techniques]]
[[Category:Fear]]
[[Category:Propaganda techniques]]