Anger works better than sadness in anti-smoking television advertisements that appeal to viewers emotions.
Previous studies had shown that television advertisements that convey negative emotions such as anger and sadness are more effective than non-emotional approaches.
The study examined how viewers process those negative emotions.
To measure the role of emotions in the ads, the team of researchers from Dartmouth College and Cornell University in the US manipulated the expressed emotions of the actor while keeping the story same.
The anger-framed advertisement was found to be more effective because it increased the perceived dominance of the speaker, which increased anti-smoking attitudes and predicted strong intentions not to smoke.
The study appeared in the Journal of Health Communication.