An exploratory examination of consumer behavior and the fear of rare events

Research concerning the effect of fear and risk on consumer behavior has focused naturally on consumer products and services. Advertising and promotion can be used to frame issues using fear and risk. This paper examines the effect of framing on the attitude of people toward rare events that have potentially catastrophic consequences. The findings suggest some people, but certainly not all, have excessive fear of very unlikely events and that framing can magnify those fear levels