Scaring the Public: Fear Appeal Arguments in Public Health Reasoning
The study of threat and fear appeal arguments has given rise to a sizeable literature. Even within a public health context, much is now known about how these arguments work to gain the public’s compliance with health recommendations. Notwithstanding this level of interest in, and examination of, the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Windsor
2012-03-01
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| Series: | Informal Logic |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ojs.uwindsor.ca/ojs/leddy/index.php/informal_logic/article/view/3146 |
| _version_ | 1818042900969160704 |
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| author | Louise Cummings |
| author_facet | Louise Cummings |
| author_sort | Louise Cummings |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The study of threat and fear appeal arguments has given rise to a sizeable literature. Even within a public health context, much is now known about how these arguments work to gain the public’s compliance with health recommendations. Notwithstanding this level of interest in, and examination of, these arguments, there is one aspect of these arguments that still remains unexplored. That aspect concerns the heuristic function of these arguments within our thinking about public health problems. Specifically, it is argued that threat and fear appeal arguments serve as valuable shortcuts in our reasoning, particularly when that reasoning is subject to biases that are likely to diminish the effectiveness of public health messages. To this extent, they are rationally warranted argument forms rather than fallacies, as has been their dominant characterization in logic. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T08:53:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2520005af8c441078414c9b33c96dbbc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0824-2577 0824-2577 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T08:53:40Z |
| publishDate | 2012-03-01 |
| publisher | University of Windsor |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Informal Logic |
| spelling | doaj.art-2520005af8c441078414c9b33c96dbbc2022-12-22T01:55:31ZengUniversity of WindsorInformal Logic0824-25770824-25772012-03-01321255010.22329/il.v32i1.31463029Scaring the Public: Fear Appeal Arguments in Public Health ReasoningLouise Cummings0Nottingham Trent UniversityThe study of threat and fear appeal arguments has given rise to a sizeable literature. Even within a public health context, much is now known about how these arguments work to gain the public’s compliance with health recommendations. Notwithstanding this level of interest in, and examination of, these arguments, there is one aspect of these arguments that still remains unexplored. That aspect concerns the heuristic function of these arguments within our thinking about public health problems. Specifically, it is argued that threat and fear appeal arguments serve as valuable shortcuts in our reasoning, particularly when that reasoning is subject to biases that are likely to diminish the effectiveness of public health messages. To this extent, they are rationally warranted argument forms rather than fallacies, as has been their dominant characterization in logic.https://ojs.uwindsor.ca/ojs/leddy/index.php/informal_logic/article/view/3146Argumentum ad baculumCognitive BiasFallacyFear Appeal ArgumentHeuristicsPublic Health |
| spellingShingle | Louise Cummings Scaring the Public: Fear Appeal Arguments in Public Health Reasoning Informal Logic Argumentum ad baculum Cognitive Bias Fallacy Fear Appeal Argument Heuristics Public Health |
| title | Scaring the Public: Fear Appeal Arguments in Public Health Reasoning |
| title_full | Scaring the Public: Fear Appeal Arguments in Public Health Reasoning |
| title_fullStr | Scaring the Public: Fear Appeal Arguments in Public Health Reasoning |
| title_full_unstemmed | Scaring the Public: Fear Appeal Arguments in Public Health Reasoning |
| title_short | Scaring the Public: Fear Appeal Arguments in Public Health Reasoning |
| title_sort | scaring the public fear appeal arguments in public health reasoning |
| topic | Argumentum ad baculum Cognitive Bias Fallacy Fear Appeal Argument Heuristics Public Health |
| url | https://ojs.uwindsor.ca/ojs/leddy/index.php/informal_logic/article/view/3146 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT louisecummings scaringthepublicfearappealargumentsinpublichealthreasoning |