Developing a Model for Use of Fear Appeals for Countering Vaccine Hesitancy in Intercultural Contexts

Apoorva Bharadwaj and Ritu Mehta

Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, 2025, vol. 50, issue 1, 7-20

Abstract: This paper proposes the concept of culture as a variable in designing social marketing campaigns for Covid-19 vaccination. Fear appeal has been often used for inducing safety behaviours in contexts of smoking, drugs and risky driving. The authors claim that fear appeal can be efficacious for persuading people to take Covid-19 vaccination if it uses ‘culture’ as a filter. It analyses three cultural dimensions that impact the cognitive and affective processing of fear appeal: uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and high/low-context communication. The research develops a new culture-compatible communication model expandable to any vaccination drive or health campaign pivoted to bring about change.

Keywords: Fear Appeal; Communication; Culture; Social Marketing; Vaccine Hesitancy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:vikjou:v:50:y:2025:i:1:p:7-20

DOI: 10.1177/02560909241307709

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