The Dynamic Interplay of Hope vs Fear Appeals in a Referendum Context

Abstract This article makes a contribution by articulating, for the first time, how hope and fear appeals were constructed as a rhetorical media device in a political advertising campaign context, specifically the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. Based on a qualitative content analysis of both sides’ campaigning materials, an understanding of the fluid, responsive and symbiotic nature of these emotional appeals and how they are utilized against the other is outlined. The research reveals core dimensions for constructing persuasive media appeals. While, fear appeals should strive to create a threat perceived to be relevant, and significant, the deployed hope appeals should focus on generating alternative positive visions and be goal congruent. By understanding contested (political) campaigns, new types of hybrid hope and fears appeal emerge (i.e. hope and fear reduction appeals). Taking these findings together, allows the authors to provide prescriptions on how certain message appeal types might be used to induce particular emotional effects in the audience. The summary statement of contribution This study articulates how hope and fear media appeals were constructed, and used to counteract each other, in a referendum context. Fear and hope can be elicited via three principal mechanisms: 1) Developing threats (fear) perceived as relevant, significant and expected to occur), 2) Deploying hope against fear by creating alternative, positive visions for target audiences 3) Creating messages that reduce feelings of fear or hope by reducing perceptions of the dimensions required to create them. Bringing these findings together allows the researchers to provide a prescription for how to induce particular hope/fear effects in the target audience.