Examining the effectiveness of physical threats in road safety advertising: The role of the third-person effect, gender, and age

Lewis, Ioni; Watson, Barry; Tay, Richard · 2006 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1016/j.trf.2006.05.001

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Summary

This study investigates the effectiveness of physical threat appeals in road safety advertising, specifically examining how the "third-person effect" (TPE), gender, and age influence message acceptance. Despite the widespread use of fear-based campaigns targeting speeding and drink driving, research on their efficacy has yielded contradictory results. The authors hypothesize that individual perceptions of a message’s relevance—specifically whether it influences oneself more than others (reverse TPE) or others more than oneself (classic TPE)—moderate persuasion. Given that young males are at higher risk for road trauma but may perceive physical threats as less relevant than social threats, the study tests whether gender and age predict these perceptual differences and subsequent behavioral intentions. The researchers employed a within-groups experimental design with 152 licensed drivers. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing demographics, past behavior, and pre-exposure intentions before viewing two high-threat television advertisements: one anti-speeding and one anti-drink driving. Post-exposure, participants rated their perceptions of the advertisements’ influence on themselves versus other drivers and reported their post-manipulation intentions to obey speed limits and avoid drink driving. These post-exposure intentions served as the primary measure of message acceptance. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to determine the extent to which TPE scores predicted post-exposure intentions beyond demographic factors, pre-exposure intentions, and past behavior. Results revealed significant gender differences in both perceptual and behavioral outcomes. Female drivers consistently reported reverse third-person effects, perceiving the advertisements as having greater influence on themselves than on others. Conversely, male drivers reported classic third-person effects, believing the messages would influence others more than themselves. These perceptual differences aligned with behavioral intentions: females reported significantly stronger intentions to avoid speeding and drink driving after exposure than males did. Regression analyses confirmed that third-person differential perception scores significantly contributed to the variance in post-exposure intentions, explaining additional variance beyond pre-exposure intentions and gender. For drink driving intentions, the TPE score was the strongest predictor, while for speeding intentions, it was the second strongest predictor after pre-exposure intentions. The findings suggest that the effectiveness of physical threat appeals in road safety advertising is moderated by gender-specific perceptions of message relevance. The classic third-person effect observed in males may reduce the persuasive impact of such campaigns for this high-risk demographic, whereas the reverse third-person effect in females enhances acceptance. The study implies that relying solely on physical threats may be insufficient for persuading male drivers, who might respond better to different types of appeals, such as social threats. Consequently, tailoring advertising strategies to account for these perceptual differences could improve the efficacy of road safety interventions.

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• public messaging