Fear in the Classroom: An Examination of Teachers’ Use of Fear Appeals and Students’ Learning Outcomes

Sprinkle, Rose; Hunt, Stephen; Simonds, Cheri J.; Comadena, Mark E.

doi:10.1080/03634520600879170

Cited by 32 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…When appraised as threatening, fear appeals result in higher test anxiety, a higher performance-avoidance goal (to avoid performing worse than one's classmates), lower intrinsic motivation, and lower grades on tests and examinations (Putwain & Best, 2011, 2012Putwain & Roberts, 2009;Putwain & Remedios, 2014b;Putwain & Symes, 2011a,2011bSprinkle, Hunt, Simonds, & Comadena, 2006). These findings are broadly consistent with those from adjacent areas of the educational psychology literature.…”

Section: Fear Appeals In the Classroomsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…The nascent literature examining the outcomes of fear appeals, used prior to high-stakes examinations, has shown that when fear appeals are appraised as threatening they result in a higher performance-approach goal, higher test anxiety, lower intrinsic motivation, and lower examination and test grades (Putwain & Best, 2011, 2012Putwain & Symes, 2011b;Sprinkle et al, 2006). The results of this study extend this body of work to show how attainment value and academic self-efficacy are also influenced by how fear appeals are appraised.…”

Section: The Outcome Of Fear Appeals Appraisalsupporting

confidence: 72%

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Experiencing fear appeals as a challenge or a threat influences attainment value and academic self-efficacy

Putwain

Remedios

Symes

2015

Learning and Instruction

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Putwain, DW, Remedios, R and Symes, WExperiencing fear appeals as a challenge or a threat influences attainment value and academic self-efficacy http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/3500/ Article LJMU has developed LJMU Research Online for users to access the research output of the University more effectively. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LJMU Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain.The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the record. Please see the repository URL above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription. LJMU Research Online Running head: FEAR APPEALS, VALUE AND ACADEMIC SELF-EFFICACYThe appraisal of fear appeals as a challenge or a threat influences a subsequent decline or increase in attainment value and academic self-efficacy FEAR APPEALS, VALUE AND ACADEMIC SELF-EFFICACY 1 AbstractFear appeals are persuasive messages that highlight the negative consequences of a particular course of action. Studies have shown that attainment value and academic self-efficacy predict how fear appeals are appraised. In this study we examined how the appraisal of fear appeals might also influence subsequent attainment value and academic self-efficacy. Self-report data were collected from 1433 students in their final two years of secondary education over three waves. Findings revealed that when students saw fear appeals as a challenge attainment value and academic self-efficacy were higher. When students saw fear appeals as a threat, attainment value and academic self-efficacy were lower. These results highlight the functional importance of how fear appeals are appraised. Challenge and threat appraisals were not mere by products of attainment value or academic self-efficacy but impacted on attainment value and academic self-efficacy; variables that are likely to make a critical impact on educational progress and attainment. We conclude that initial teacher education and teacher professional development programs would benefit from enhanced interpersonal and relational-skills training to enable teachers to judge more effectively how fear appeals are appraised.Keywords: fear appeals, attainment value, academic self-efficacy, high-stakes testing FEAR APPEALS, VALUE AND ACADEMIC SELF-EFFICACY 2The appraisal of fear appeals as a challenge or a threat influences a subsequent decline or increase in attainment value and academic self-efficacy IntroductionThis study examines how academic self-efficacy and attainment value relate to the appraisal of fear appeals used by secondary school teachers prior to a high-stakes examination. Fear appeals are used by teachers as a motivational strategy; a 'scare tactic' to attem...

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Section: Fear Appeals In the Classroomsupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: The Outcome Of Fear Appeals Appraisalsupporting

confidence: 72%

Experiencing fear appeals as a challenge or a threat influences attainment value and academic self-efficacy

Putwain

Remedios

Symes

2015

Learning and Instruction

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“…For instance, a teacher could say to a class "If you don't pass GCSE mathematics, you'll find it hard to get a good job and go to college". These 'scare tactics' have been likened to the types of 'fear appeals' commonly found in the health promotion literature (Putwain & Roberts, 2009;Sprinkle et al, 2006). Fear appeals are persuasive messages designed to highlight the negative consequences of a particular course of action and how those negative consequences can be avoided by adopting an alternate course of behavior (Maloney et al, 2011;Peters, Ruiter, & Kok, 2013;Popova, 2012;Witte & Allen, 2000).…”

Section: Messages Used By Teachers Prior To High-stakes Examinationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the present study, fear appeals concern failure in the mathematics examination and the consequences of failure. Fear appeals are used by teachers as a motivational tactic, to try and elicit an adaptive fear that will result in students making greater efforts to avoid failure by preparing thoroughly for the forthcoming examination (Putwain & Roberts, 2012;Sprinkle, Hunt, Simonds, & Comadena, 2006). Previous studies have shown that how the message is interpreted, or appraised, by the student is critical in establishing linkages with a variety of salient educational outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear appeals prior to a high-stakes examination can have a positive or negative impact on engagement depending on how the message is appraised

Putwain

Nicholson

Nakhla

et al. 2016

Contemporary Educational Psychology

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Previous studies have shown that teachers may use messages that focus on the importance of avoiding failure (fear appeals) prior to high-stakes examinations as a motivational tactic. The aim of this study was to examine whether fear appeals, and their appraisal as challenging or threatening, impacted on student engagement. Data were collected from 1373 students, clustered in 46 classes, and 81 teachers responsible for instruction in those classes, prior to a high-stakes mathematics secondary school exit examination. Data were analyzed in a multilevel structural equation model. The appraisal of fear appeals as challenging lead to greater student engagement and as threatening to lower student engagement. The impact of fear appeals on engagement was mediated by a threat appraisal. The effectiveness of fear appeals as a motivational strategy depends on how they are interpreted by students.

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“…These originated in the health literature in attempts to promote health-conscious lifestyle behaviors, such as smoking cessation and safe sex practices (e.g., Ruiter, Abraham, & Kok, 2001;Smerecnik & Ruiter, 2010). Fear appeals have been applied to the messages used in an educational or instructive context prior to taking tests and examinations (Putwain & Roberts, 2009;Sprinkle, Hunt, Simonds, & Comadena, 2006). Thus, messages presented to students prior to high-stakes examinations may focus, to a greater or lesser extent, on the negative consequences of failure that may elicit more or less fear in students.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The scare tactic: Do fear appeals predict motivation and exam scores?

Putwain¹,

Remedios²

2014

School Psychology Quarterly

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Prior to high-stakes exams, teachers use persuasive messages that highlight to students the possible consequences of failure. Such messages are known as fear appeals. This study examined whether fear appeals relate to self-and non-self-determined motivation and academic performance. Data were collected in 3 waves. Self-report data pertaining to perceived fear appeals were collected in the first wave, self-report data pertaining to self-determined motivation were collected in the second wave, and exam scores were collected in the third wave. An increased frequency of fear appeals and the appraisal of fear appeals as threatening predicted lower self-determined motivation but were largely unrelated to non-self-determined motivation. An increased frequency of fear appeals and the appraisal of fear appeals as threatening predicted lower examination performance that was partly mediated by lower self-determined motivation. These findings support a position derived from self-worth theory that the negative consequences of fear appeals arise from their focus on avoiding failure rather than their focus on extrinsic consequences. We suggest that teachers and instructors need to be aware how seemingly motivational statements can unwittingly promote lower self-determined motivation.

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Fear in the Classroom: An Examination of Teachers’ Use of Fear Appeals and Students’ Learning Outcomes

Cited by 32 publications

References 14 publications

Experiencing fear appeals as a challenge or a threat influences attainment value and academic self-efficacy

Experiencing fear appeals as a challenge or a threat influences attainment value and academic self-efficacy

Fear appeals prior to a high-stakes examination can have a positive or negative impact on engagement depending on how the message is appraised

The scare tactic: Do fear appeals predict motivation and exam scores?

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