Controversial Conversations: The Emotions Evoked by Anti-Terrorism Advertising

Abstract This report presents an exploratory study that compares the emotional response outcomes to anti-terrorism messages when the attributed source is manipulated (for-profit, not-for-profit, and government). The concept of discrete emotions (e.g., anger, joy, fear) was used to explore the emotions elicited by this type of message and its sources and the unique influence on audience’s perceptions of persuasion of these discrete emotions. The results found that messages which include references about terrorism elicit a complex emotional response that can increase or reduce the persuasiveness of the message.