Modifying Risk Perception Through Emotion: An Experimental Study Using a Fear Appeal Video Intervention in a Driving Context

Fear appeal messages are widely used in road safety campaigns to discourage risky driving behaviors; however, their effectiveness remains a subject of debate. This study experimentally examined how exposure to fear-inducing, emotionally negative content affects drivers’ risk perception. A total of 51 drivers were assigned to an experimental group (n = 24; 17 women; mean age = 21.13 years) or a control group (n = 27; 23 women; mean age = 21.04 years). The experimental group viewed videos depicting risky driving behaviors and traffic accidents, whereas the control group viewed videos that were emotionally neutral. Perceived risk was assessed both pre- and post-intervention using a behavioral risk perception task that featured naturalistic driving scenarios. Participants in the experimental group showed a significant increase in perceived risk following the intervention, but no significant change was observed in the control group. Signal Detection Theory analyses indicated that these changes resulted from a modification in the decision threshold. The results of this study provide empirical evidence that fear-based content can modify drivers’ risk perception and may inform the design of more effective road safety campaigns.