Extended parallel process model: Difference between revisions

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The '''extended parallel process model''' ('''EPPM''') is a fear appeal theory developed by communications scholar [[Kim Witte]] that illustrates how individuals react to fear-inducing messages.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Witte K | title = Putting the fear back into fear appeals: The extended parallel process model. | journal = Communications Monographs | date = December 1992 | volume = 59 | issue = 4 | pages = 329-349329–349 | doi = 10.1080/03637759209376276 }}</ref> Witte subsequently published an initial test of the model.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Witte K | title = Fear control and danger control: A test of the extended parallel process model (EPPM). | journal = Communications Monographs | date = June 1994 | volume = 61 | issue = 2 | pages = 113–134 | doi = 10.1080/03637759409376328 }}</ref>

The EPPM was developed by Witte as a response to the significant inconsistencies in fear appeal literature, serving as an extension of previous fear appeal models, hence the 'extended' in EPPM. The model is originally based on Leventhal's Parallel Process Model – a danger and fear control framework that studied how adaptive protective behaviour stemmed from attempts of danger control.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal | vauthors = Leventhal H | title = Fear appeals and persuasion: the differentiation of a motivational construct | journal = American Journal of Public Health | volume = 61 | issue = 6 | pages = 1208–1224 | date = June 1971 | pmid = 4110702 | pmc = 1529874 | doi = 10.2105/AJPH.61.6.1208 }}</ref> It also significantly draws from Roger's [[Protection motivation theory]], which proposes two responses to fear-inducing stimuli: threat appraisal and coping appraisal.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Rogers RW | title = A Protection Motivation Theory of Fear Appeals and Attitude Change1 | journal = The Journal of Psychology | volume = 91 | issue = 1 | pages = 93–114 | date = September 1975 | pmid = 28136248 | doi = 10.1080/00223980.1975.9915803 }}</ref>

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The EPPM model is mainly used in [[Social and behavior change communication|Social and behaviour change communication]] (SBCC). Practitioners design a general communications program, such as a campaign or an advert, and then test the effectiveness of the program through implementation. SBCC methods in healthcare, education, and marketing have employed the EPPM to induce behavioural change in patients and customers.

Multiple versions of the EPPM are employed in health campaigns. For example, EPPM-based campaigns have helped increase colorectal cancer screening participation among young adults.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Birmingham WC, Hung M, Boonyasiriwat W, Kohlmann W, Walters ST, Burt RW, Stroup AM, Edwards SL, Schwartz MD, Lowery JT, Hill DA, Wiggins CL, Higginbotham JC, Tang P, Hon SD, Franklin JD, Vernon S, Kinney AY | display-authors = 6 | title = Effectiveness of the extended parallel process model in promoting colorectal cancer screening | journal = Psycho-Oncology | volume = 24 | issue = 10 | pages = 1265–1278 | date = October 2015 | pmid = 26194469 | pmc = 7161702 | doi = 10.1002/pon.3899 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Pengchit W, Walters ST, Simmons RG, Kohlmann W, Burt RW, Schwartz MD, Kinney AY | title = Motivation-based intervention to promote colonoscopy screening: an integration of a fear management model and motivational interviewing | journal = Journal of Health Psychology | volume = 16 | issue = 8 | pages = 1187–1197 | date = November 2011 | pmid = 21464114 | pmc = 3162074 | doi = 10.1177/1359105311402408 }}</ref> Other usages of EPPM lie in shaping public perceptions, such as the adverts on lockdown measures and pandemic protocols during the [[COVID-19 pandemic|Covid-19 Pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors = Tsoy D, Tirasawasdichai T, Kurpayanidi KI |date=2021 |title=Role of Social Media in Shaping Public Risk Perception during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Theoretical Review |journal=International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration |volume=7|issue=2|pages=35–41|doi=10.18775/ijmsba.1849-5664-5419.2014.72.1005|s2cid=234151462 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Zhao S, Wu X | title = From Information Exposure to Protective Behaviors: Investigating the Underlying Mechanism in COVID-19 Outbreak Using Social Amplification Theory and Extended Parallel Process Model | journal = Frontiers in Psychology | volume = 12 | pages = 631116 | date = 2021 | pmid = 34113280 | pmc = 8185043 | doi = 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.631116 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

== Criticisms ==

While the EPPM has been effective in health campaigns and behavioural change interventions, limitations have been pointed out through rigorous [[Meta-analysis|meta-analytical]] studies.

Reviews have highlighted many applications of the EPPM model in its 20 years since initial publication <ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors = Maloney EK, Lapinski MK, Witte K |date= April 2011 |title=Fear Appeals and Persuasion: A Review and Update of the Extended Parallel Process Model: Fear Appeals and Persuasion |journal=Social and Personality Psychology Compass|language=en|volume=5|issue=4|pages=206–219|doi=10.1111/j.1751-9004.2011.00341.x}}</ref> but significant theoretical questions on the operationalization of key constructs remain and not all of its hypotheses have received empirical support.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal | vauthors = Popova L | title = The extended parallel process model: illuminating the gaps in research | journal = Health Education & Behavior | volume = 39 | issue = 4 | pages = 455–473 | date = August 2012 | pmid = 22002250 | doi = 10.1177/1090198111418108 | s2cid = 22928121 }}</ref>

Lucy Popova's '''The Extended Parallel Process Model: Illuminating the Gaps in Research''<nowiki/>', is an extensive review on the theoretical and empirical applications of the EPPM. <ref name=":0" /> Popova discovered that the strong theoretical foundations has some inconsistencies in a few of its operational definitions. A systematic review of existing literature on EPPMs found that its propositions had no clear empirical support.

Criticism also came from Ooms, Jansen, and Hoeks from the University of Groningen, who tested four main propositions of the EPPM. They discovered that threat and intention were unrelated, and that the outcomes of fear appeals differ slightly from what the EPPM claims. This questions the practical validity of the EPPM. <ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors = Ooms J, Jansen C, Hoeks J |date= January 2015 |title=The EPPM put to the test: Evaluating four basic propositions |journal=Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics|language=en|volume=4|issue=2|pages=241–256|doi=10.1075/dujal.4.2.07oom|issn=2211-7245|url= https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/the-eppm-put-to-the-test(13e8a432-2b20-4b0f-b4fd-66baeb1bfe90).html }}</ref>

== See also ==