DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 137 843 CS 301 634

AUTHOR Haskins, Ja:_k E.TITLE The Effects of Public Communir-ation ProgrE.ms on Fire

Prevention in the Bolls! A Review; A R:!port to TheYational Commission on Fire Prevention andControl.

INSTITUTION Tennessee Univ., Knoxville.PUB DATE 4 Oct 72NOTE . 36p.

EDRS PRICE MF-$0.83 HC-$2.06 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Accident Prevention; *Communication (Thought

Transfer); *Comunications; *Fire Protection; MassMedia; *Research; Safety Education

ABSTRACTIn order to learn whether public communications

(defined as both personal and impersonal communication) can beeffective in preventing residential fires, a search was conducted ofall available published literature reporting empirically basedresearch evidence on communications. This paper outlines anddiscusses the search procedure, the sources which were consulted, andfour main kinds of evidence: effects of fire-preventioncommunications campaigns, effects of. safety (nonfire). communicationscampaigns, effects of other (nonsafety) communications campaigns, andgeneral principles of persuasion by communications. Some of theconcldsions offered in the paper are that relatively fewhousehold-fire-prevention communications'campaigns have been reportedand that there has heen even less research on the effects of suchcampaigns, that no rigorous evidence is'savailaIlle as to whethercommunications campaigns can affect household tire prevention, andthat such campaigns can be effective if properly planned andevaluated. (JM)

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U S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTHEDUCATION SC WELFAREN.r,TiONAL INS:ITUTE

EDUCATION

DOCuMENT HAS BEE% QERwc._. OW:ED EXACTLY AS RECEI,ED

;HE PEQSON OR OaGAN;ZAT.ON ORtGIN-TNG IT PoNTS D. '..E W C QPIN:ONS1-ATz3 DO NOT NECESSAR,LY PEPRE.

ENT NATION:LPC,s,

The Effects of Public Communication Programson Fire Prevention in the Home: A Review

by Jack B. Haskins, rh.D.Chairman, Graduate Studies and Research

College of CommunicaticnsThe University of Tennessee

October 4, 1972

PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THiS CORYRIGHTED MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED B1

Jack B. Haskins

To ERIC AND ORGANIZATIONS OPERATINGUNDER AGREEMENTS WITH THE NATIONAL IN-STiTuTE OF EDUCATION FURTHER REPRO-DUCTION OUTSIDE THE ERIC SySTEM RE-OUIRES PERMISSION EJ THE COPYRIGHTOWNER

A Report toThe National Commission on 'Fire PrevenLion and Control

Washington, D.C.

Outline

The Effects of Public Communication Programs

on Fire Prevention: A Review

I. introductionA. ProblemB. Purpose

II. Procedure .rid sources consulted

III. The EvidenceA. Effects of fire prevention communications campaigns,

. 1. Aimed at the general public2. Not aimed at the general public3. Conclusions4. Comments

D. Effects of safety communications campaigns (non-fire)

C. Effects of other cormunications -:ampaigns (non-safety)

1. Non-commercial2. Advertising and commercial

D." General principles of persuasion by communications

1. Selected general principles2. Fear and threat message principles

IV. Summary and conclusions

Selected bibliography

Biographical resume, Jack I. Haskins

3

The Effects of Public Communication Programs

on Fire Prevention: A Review

By Jack B. Haskins

A. The Problem

It has been estimated that over 12,000 persons die from fires

annually in the United States, and about half the deaths occur in

residential fires. Similarly,- the property loss from fires an-

nually is about 2i billion dollars, of which about one-third is

'from residential fires.

A reduction in these figureS. can come about primarily through

two avenues, fire.prevention and fire control. Fire prevention is

logically the most desirable approach.

Of the many possible approaches to fire prevention, communi-

cations programs aimed at the general.public represent one impor-

tant possibility. Communications is understood to embrace all/-

sorts of communication, education and information activities./

"Public communications? is a term that can'embrace both per-

sonal communication and various forms of impersonal communication,

including the mass media.

7 73. Ptrpose of This Stud,/

Can public-communications be effective in fire prevention?

That is the basic question to be explored in this review. While

theprincipal focus will be directed toward prevention of careless

residential fires in urban areas, some attention will be given to

prevention of other sorts of fires. Arson as a cause is specif-

ically excluded.

No original research will be conducted in this exploration.

It will be confined-to a thorough search of existing literature.

Further, only empirically based research evidence on communications

will be reported. While a knowled-ge of expert opinions on and

traditional practices of fire prevention communications can be

very useful in many respects, that is a separate topic beyond the

scope of this.report.

Beyond the specific attention to fire prevention.communications

programS, evidence will also be sought from other safety communi-

cations fields (e.g., traffic safety), from mass communications

used for advertising and non-commercial promotional campaigns, and-

from general principles and theories of communication from basie

non-applied research in the fiela.

Uhile the search will be general, a keen eye will be cocked

toward finding solutions to the following hypotheses which have

been broached by authorities in the fire prevention field.

'ik)st fires occur because of public apathy.'

-Greater.public.awareness is the single activity with greatestpotential for reducing losses.'

5

"Public education and communication programs can have aneffect.-

"There is need for more public education programs.'

'Careless residential fires are more of a problem in largeurban areas than in smaller and non-urban areas."

°The public is ignorant of fire prevention procedures."

"The public is ignorant of the necessary action to take whenfire occurs, including_the location of the nearest fire alarm box.

"Public communication campaigns will appeal primarily tothose who are already aware and knowledgeable.'

"Public communication can be effective only for shortperiods.'

'People are so satiated with fire_prevention and othersafety messages that they will tune out if exposed."

"The people most in need of fire prevention education arethose of low-education and low-income levels, who will also be

the least responsive group."

"The effects of fire prevention campaigns can only be deter-mined over a long period of time; say 5-10 years.

"Public education is only one of many needed countermeasures."

'Public communication is more .cost effective than prevention'through personal contact and other means.'

'Public communication campaigns should create a.livareness, pro-vide specific.instructions, change attitudes, and be sustainedover long periods of time.'

"The public is complacent'toward the rising trend of fire

losses and has no active desire for improved fire afety."

new fictitious character, like Smokey the Bear, could pre-vent home fires.'

Because of the nature of the problem of fire, the use of

fearsome and threatening messages on the dangers of fire arelogically indicated." 2.

These are only a few of the many possible opinions on the

effectiveness of fire prevention communidations campaigns.

6

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. Procedure and Sources Consulted

A thorough and.systematic search of existing literature

Periodicals, books and other sources was conducted to locate

pertinent evidence.

Keywords and topic descriptors used in varying combinations

in the search included: fire, safety, prevention, public, social,

community, education, communications, information, problems,

attitudes, persuasion, and other related words.

Indexes, _Bibliographies and Lists Searched:

University of Tennessee Graduate Library main index filesDanielson and Wilhoit, Computerized Eibliography of Nass

Communications Research.Hansen and Parsons, Hass Communications: A Research Lib-

liographyJournalism Quarterly Cumulative Index (1924-1963) and

annual indexesPublic Opinion Quarterly Cumulative Index (Vol. 1-1967)

and annual indexesResearch in Education (ERIC) Cumulative Index

Abstracting_and Review Journals:

Psychological Abstracts (1927-August 1972)Sociological Abstracts (1953-June 1972, with exception

of 1971 volume unavailable)Dissertation Abstracts (1962-69)Directory of Fire Research in the U.S. (6 volumes, through

1972)Fire aesearch Abstracts and iLeviews (1959-1971)

Primary Journals:

journal of Safety Research (all issues)Journal of Communications (all issue indexes)Journalism QuarterlyTa number of other journals were brewSed and then ignored)

Other Sources:

Educational Eesearch Information Clearinghouse (ERIC)National Safety-Council research library (search performed by

NSC)

7

Oth,==r teiodicals, istg and sources are undoubtedly available

for further search, but within the time limits imposed on the task,

the cove-rae of various abstracting journ.,-,ls (which Prrt,-,nca hundr.eds

of Tcrimary journals) provides reasonable assurance that very little

Important tublisl,ed evidence has been overlooked._

8

1.12

TTT Effects of Fire Preventic.n

Communications _Camaigns

The intensive literature search previously described resulted

in twelve 'finds bearing at least some tenuous claim to being

. research on fire prevention communications campaigns aimed at the

,oncern.,d with hou,,,ehold fire

prevention, the others with forest fires and other situaticns.

The term "communications" is used broadly here to include

personal contact as well as impersonal media messages.

1. ::ousehold Fire Prevention Campaigns

ralse alarm statistics were examined before and after a fireprevention campaign in Leicester, England. No perceptible changewas observed (Chambers, 1969).

The research design: before-and-after Measurement ofbehavior, no control group.

In apparently the same Leicester campaign, home firestatistics were compared before and after the campaign. Both thefrequency and severity of home fires appeared to be lower after thecampaign (Chambers, 1970).

ne research design: before-andafter measurement ofbehavior, no control group.

. 'A study to determine the effectiveness of fire demonstrationswas conducted in Tennessee in 1964-65 (Hopkins, 1967). Firedemonstrations by public health personnel were accompanied bybefore-and-after measures of knowledge, attitudes and safety prac-tices in the home. Favorable changes in knowledge and attitudesoccurred, but no changesin actual home safety practices were noted.

The research, design: before-and-after measurement of verbaland behavioral measures, no-:Pontrol group.

. Firemen in Lancashire County, England, visited about 500households'and inventoried home fire hazards on a checklist. A

-return visit was made three months later, at:Which time it wasfound that over half the hazards had been remedied (Daxon, 1970).

flThe research design: before-and-after measurement of

behavior, no,control group. 9

3A1

. Three U.S. studies are touched on in a recent overviewof fire prevention (Hughes, 1972). A program in lissouri involvedthree years of total comhunications effort to the general public "ofsixcounties. A reduction of 43 in fire deaths over the three yearI-Jeriod was noted.

The research design: apparently a before-and-after measuremenof behavior, presence of a ,:ontrol group and other details indeterm-inate without reference to primary report (unavailable).

. An Arkansas program aimed at the general public of onecounty, and later the state, over a period of five years reportedlyresulted in a 505 reduction in severe burns.

The research design: largely indeterminate without referenceto primary report (unavailable) but apparently a before-and-aftermeasurement o-f behavior with no control group (Hughes, 1972).

. Passing reference is made to a program in Newport News, Va.,but no details were available at the time of this report (Hughes,1972).

. An analysis of fire prevention slogans written by the pub-lic, and cf fire prevention literature, indicated that the publicwas largely ignorant of preventive measures (Nash, 1968).

The research design: content analysis.

2. Other (non-home) Fire Prevention

Three research reports were found dealing with fire prevention

communications efforts not aimed primarily at household fire pre-

vention. One additional unsupported reference was found.

.A doctoral dissertation (Griessman, 1966) reports a study on

the perception and retention of forest fire prevention information.

Surveys were conducted in a high-fire-rate community and a low-fire-

rate community, and comparisons were made on the basis of residents

knowledge, media exposure, attitudes and other lierbally expressed

measure's.. No conclusions on communications effects are possible.

A study of the effectiveness of a wall poster amongBritish

school children was c'onducted by the -Joint Fire Research Organi-

zation (Chambers, 1966). Details of the research design'and

findings were missing from the secondary report available.\

1.

3112

7 program was reportedly in the plan: ng

staze in Alabama some time ago. A study was conducted

to determine the types and causes of burns in Jefferson County,

and a community-wide educational program was reortedly underway

for th,, purpose of r.educing burn injuries. io details of the cam-

paign, research design and effects if any were available, but

further _search may be productive.

An industr-ial fire safety leaflet--dealing with chip pan"

safety practices--was aLstributed, with a repor,,ed reduction in

fire frequency l mOnths aftAr tho- leaflet (Chambers, 3/70).

1-esearch design: before-and-after measure of behavior, no

control group.

Several other references to fire prevention communications

not accompanied by research were found in the literature search.

These are almost entirely statements -of opinion or reviews of

existing practices and they will not be reported here. -Opinions

and practices are useful as idea-starters, but with no evidence as .

to effectiveness they can only be regarded as hypotheses for further

research.

3.. Conclusions

The few reported research studies on home fire1 prevention

communications campaig,ns lead to the following conclusions:

1. A few public communications campaigns of various sorts-

involving both personal contact and mass media--have been con-

ducted in the U.S. and England. Some of them have been accOmpanied

'by favorable Changes on such behavioral indices as home fire .

severity and frequency, hazardous home conditions, deaths, safety.

-practices and burns.

3A3.,

knowle 0= and =ttitudes toward

hor-1 prg,vention were not acbomnied by chnFeq in home snfety

the one study whch obt,,,ng73 b^th verbal ,c-nd

data.

3. ...Thether the favorable chaniz.es observed are due entirely,

partially or not at all to the accompPnvn=7 ^o=nications ig

indeterminPte from these studies.- Apparently, none of them em-

'blyg-i a true ^0ntt-ol gl-ouD, which ig necessnry in order to e2im-,

mate the .,--.=f,=,(-t= of oth.g.,- -Pacto,--g anci rinpoint communiotinns PT-

fects. In short, while favorable changes were- observed, the ef-

fects due to communications cannot be determined from the avail-

alle eviencP.

Comments

This review of the literature makes it clear that there have

been very few household fire prevention communications campaigns,

relative to other campaiens.such aS traffic safety. There has been

even less research on.effecta of fire campaigns. Such research as

has been reported is inconclusive on communications effectiveness,

\since the research designs used.did not allow for the separation,of

other factors operating simultaneously.

ITethodolcgically, the few available research studies are

commendable in using behavioral measures rather than relying en--

tirely on verbal responses (as has been the norm in much communi-

cations research in other fields).- in future studies, the addition

of control groups would make it possible to determine the effects

.of the communications factor apart from other factors always

present.

Finally, public communications programs aimed at household

123A 4.

-fire prevention appear to be virtually a virgin field for communi-

cations and communications research.

13

3A-5-

III 1.).\. The Effects of Other

non-fire Safet Communications Cam ai ns

For years, the public has been exposed to a barrage of safety

and health communications campaigr on r 'Lety of problems. Some/

of the campaigns, to name a few, have with traffic safety,

drug and alcohol abuse, anti-polio vaccine, smoking, fluoridation,

mental health, conservation and ecology, home accident prevention

and many other problems.

As nOted earlier, public communications campaigns aimed at home

hre prevention have been relatively sparse. Even more sparse is an3,

real evidence on the effects of home fire prevention campaigns.

Therefore, one muSt look further afield for evidence on possible

communications effebts.

Traffic and driving safety has been selected as probably the

single most fruitful area of safety coMmunications campaigns and

research on effects. Ly analogy, one may derive some hypotheSes

which may be useful in the problem of home fire prevention.

Two sources will be referred to in this context.

Haskins (1969, 1970) undertook an'extensive review of traffic

..safety research literature and came to a number of conclusions re-

garding campaign effects and the shortcomings of the research

methodology employed in measuring effects.

The other source is -1-1e Denver synposium on mass communications

research for traffic safety (1964). This symposium and related

activity was an intensive effort by leaders in the held to summarie

and make recommendations in the field of traffic safety

14

communications campaigns.

1. Effects of Safety Campaigns

Haskins (1969) undertook an intensive search of published

literature to determine what was Known about the effects of mass

communication on drinking/driving in particular and safety in

general. This was in c ction with a 0.20,000 project for the

Injury Control Prog .dop and test a communications campaign

aimed at reducingdrinkih,_ (Iriving accidents, for which he was

principal investigator.

The,general conclusion was that, while numerous campaigns had

been'Conducted, there had been relatively little research on their

effects. Further, most of the research that had been done was in-'

adequate and consequently no one knows whether the campaigns had

been -effective or not._

It is worth noting the lonely two studies on effects that.were

conclusive. A British study by Laner and Sell (1960) found that

safety posters in steel planta had a significant beneficial effect

on safety practices. An Oregon study (Kaestner et al, 1967) deter-

mined that personal letters to traffic offenders, properly worded,

reduced subsequent violations. This study is notable in several

respectsi+-it was the only truly conclusive field experiment un-

covered, it demonstrated that a single safety message can positively-

affect safety practices, and that the behavioral effects oP communi-

cations can be measured.

Haskins' conclusions ended on an optimistic note: Despite the.

paucity of adequately designed.research, there is evidence that mass

communications campaigns can work. This doesn't mean that just any

campaign will work, 116wever. The greatest likelihood of success is

in those eampaigns where systematic use is made of known communi-

cations principles, accompanied by appropriate pre-testing research

of messages at various stages of the development process.

2. raffic Safety Symposium

Of a more general:nature are the conclusions from the Denver

Synposium on Nass Communications Research for Traffic Safety

(Laumenthal symposium and its dated activities was

an intenSive L;_LI.Jrt by leaders in the field .0-ver several months to

summarize what was already known that tight be useful in traffic-

safety cotmuniCations campaigns.

Here, in capsule,form, -are some of their conclusions, findings

and recommendations. (These are all stated firtly here, but it

must be kept in mind that the evidence is 'far from conclusive.)

. There are no Simple formulae for cottunlating to massaudiences efftively.

How p le react tc c--=Inications der:: ! upon a Varietyof physical, physiologicJi, iychological and al factors--i.e.,each situat is unique.

In m: situations, mass communications _une cannot ac-complish peiJuasion, and must be supplemented 1 personal influence.

. Personal influences can be made more effective when sup-, plemented .7 mass communications'.

. The u.73e of several tedia combined is tore effective than anysingle medd alone.

What a communicator p-..ts into a message is notNnecessarilythe same a:. at the audience gets out of it.

,2 message prodIL:es different reac.7,ions/in differentkinds

Peop_ tend to avoid messages that are uninteresting orthreatening disagreeable. 'when forced exposure to sUch messagesoccurs, they interpret it according to their owntaste.

The mass media can demonstrably increase awareness and know-_ledge, but their effects on attitudes and behavior are considerablyless.

3B3

16

Persuasicn takes place most readily when the message contentis new and when the topic is of low importance to the audience.

. In persuading audiences to adopt innovations, both mass andpersonal communications techniques are called for.

. Innovation attempts are most effective when specific messagesare aimed firstsat small groups of known innovators, who serve asmodels for larger groups.

. Mass adoption of an innovation takes a long time.

InnoVation is most rapid when the new practice iS simple andwhere people are alrear',' .L'edisposed.toward it.

. General theories and models of mass communication may be use-ful, but due:to the special nature of safety-campaigns, more spenifitheories and models for.safety campaigns are called for.

. .

A specifLc safety communications model must be based uporvatleast two factDrs, (a) assumptions about the:causes ofLthe noP-safecondition, ant (b) assumptions about mass.persuasion.

A tentE iv traffic safety campaign theory is advanced,called the Sul, --:.ive/ProbabiIistic/Functional theory. This theorY(not yet verif.) st7ltes that when the objective probabillity of anaccident is gr1,r the subjective pro5abi1ity, accidnts aremorelikely to J7rlar. In such cases, the :7_urpose of mass_communi-cations is to br_nc sllbjective probabilities into 1_ine with theobjective probab'lis. .

Isolatedbe.discouragedcombines reseEistrative talc

. The bestlies in. campaii."subjective prfuted or modiff

cn 3hot subjectively determined,campaigns shouldvor of an integrated.long-range program thatlanning, coordination plus creative and admin-

for improving traffic safety communicationsand research based 'on hy-potheses from the-llty" theory, untiIri: can be verified or re-

. New ide fo: campaigns'. should not e discouraged, but.should be test befDre'being.put into ope:Ttion.

. It is unreali_Aic to assume that accidents can be reduced tozero. Some minimu7 saseline rate should be established as a goal

Ntoward which effort will be directed,/

. In additiprimary.publicwith-officials,and licensing ar

. As early

influencing attitudes and behavior of the:_ved in accidents,. influence should be attempted_ilation and enforcement, engineering and design,rAning..

ossible, baseline measures shbuld be obtained or_

17

3B4

the public's awareness, knowledge, understanding, attitudes andbehavior regarding the safety problem. Subsequent changes, if any,can then be measured against these benehmarks.

Ness communications is no substitute for but only a supple-ment to such measures as legislation, enforcement, engineering,design and training.

While there are many unanswered questions about the causesand prevention of accidents, there is a'great deal already known,that is not being used.

There is:very:little reliable evidence on the effectivenessimass media in reducing traffic accident rates.

\

there is little 'point in conductind campaigns unless ac-companied by measurement.of the effects of the campaigns. Everyc'ampaign should contain provisions for.evaluative research as anintegral part.

Communications campaign direttors can be provided with achecklist of guidelines that can improve the chances of success.This checklist includes'items on: explication of the probleth;'selecting program priorities.; setting,the number, duration and typeof goals;,determining soUrces of opposition; determining messagecontent; selection of media;.evaluation-of prograM effeets.

18

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III C. Effects of General

Inon-safety CoMmunications Campaigns

Since nothing is known for sure about the effects of fire

prevention communications campaigns, and very little more is known

about other safety communications campaigns, the topic jis

here to include all other sorts of communications,campaigns.

In a monograph entitled How to Evaluate Mass Communications,\,

Haskins (1968) reviewed a number of communications field xperimentE

conducted under real life cohiitions which appeared to fulfill

scientific criteria for determining effects. It is worth.noting

that while there are uncounted thousands of communications campaigns

on various topics ''and hundreds of published research.studies on

communicatimsj, only were located which were considered.to be

adeqUate measurements -f the real effects of mass communidations on

real behavior in the real world--i.e., controlled field experiments.

-1." 'Non-commercial Campaigns

.1n .non-Commercial situationS' approXiMating public service

campaigns, the following findings were obtained:

. A direct-mail campaign inor ased registrations and votingturnout for local elections_but had no effect on turnout for the.national election.

. An, .'emotional" Tolitical leaflet was mcre effective than a"rational" leaflet in getting votes in a local political campaign.

A soft-Sell personal letter to traffic offenders reducedsubsc: _ent violations., while a form letter\had no effect.

,

. A toilet-training pamphlet increased mothers' knowledgeabout toilet-training but .effects on behavior were:unknown.

A direct mail campaign to persuade employers to hire blindworke7s had no effect on their attitudes.

2 9301

1 A professional academic journal tried four different cam-paign themes to increase subscriptions among educators. The mostsuccessful. theme (to professional status) was ten times as effectiveas the least successful theme (on economy).

. A community college campaign to increase enrollment foundthat some persuasion strategies based on laboratory communicationsexperiments were verified in a real-lifc field experiment.

The Agency for International Development found that eitl r

radio or audio-visual communications w,-re ,:tive ingetting Ecuador peasants to adopt new pracLices sucil as building

nation, and So forth.

. In a gampaign to get the public to use sodium fluoride fordental health, a vq-son-to-person campaign achieved more.action whil .a mass media campaign produced more-knowledge gains.

A multi-media United Nations information program aimed at:community leaders and nev:paper editors had absolutely no effecteither on community leaders' knowledge, attitudes, interest.orbehavior regarding the 01;, nor on the kind and amount of UN newsprinted in newspapers.

; A multi-media camTaiP4n to get people to eat more eggs had animmediate effect, which s.-asequently diminished.

. A 7est of newspdper editing practiCes found that some of thetraditionalipractices were ineffective_in obtaining readership:ofnews i:ems, while. some 0-7,he:7s were verified.

7.

. A popular theory of ommunicationl the utwo-step flow" ofinfOrmation was .i-efuted _n 'an experiment which showed that news-paper articles haT,more effect on the attitudes of followers than.on opinion leaders. flostly, however, the articles had-no effeet atall.--

2: Gommero-L_dl Camnaigns

:lost f the valid.research on communications-effects has been

conducted Ly advertisers and other commercial organizations. Very .

little of 7-the evidence is publicly available. However, Haskins

\-obtained--frOm -Doth private and .public sourcesadvertising studies.\

\with the follcing conclusions:/

Sbme teLevision commercials can change behavior. However,charis in knc7:ledge and'attitudes from commercials have little or

_

no re_ationzhi- to behavior

. More ap-les wen'. -.1sing a "utility- theme than a Thealth"theme.

2 03C2

A high-spending utensil advertising campaign increasedutensil sales,. while a low-spending campaign did not.

. In an experiment on five sotlp advertising themes, the besttheme produced considerably greater sales than +1- worst theme.

Newspaper ads with Ofl-CC r producedblack-and-white ad.

r2 !-.hm

. Neither large nor small newspaper ads had any effect inattracting viewers to a special telegram program.

'. In an experiment wit newspaper a:Ls, it was found that.foroneproduct advertiSing had r3 negative e-fect on sales and no effecton awareness. Another product obtained -.....ncreased sales and aware-ness but no improvement in knowledge or attitudes.

fA to-sidd 'On-competitive soft-sell direct mail advertise-ment sold signifidailtly'more cars than-a traditional One-sidedadvertisement, thias 4erifying a_laboratory-establishedprinciple.

A direct-Mail campaign to physicians resulted in signifi-cantly more prescription sales of a.new drug.

A 3-letter direct-mail campaign reSulted in an increase inegg sales,- while a one-aetter campaign had no effect.

In.a test of the relative effectiveness of four differentmedia on florists sales, one medium producedjligh sales,'anotherproduced moderate sales, and two media apparently'brought about areduction in.sales.

. A test of three different media on apple sales showed in-creased sales from each, but one was more effective than the othertwo.

/.

A million-dollar advertising experiment in four media showedthat. sales increased with advertisinguptoapdnt, then levelled off,'and finally at extreMely high levelsof spending sales dedreased(i.e., had a negatiVe effect).

A milk.advertising campaign showed that an increase in adver-tising above normal.levels.produced additional sales, however a'moderate increase was more cost efficient than a high increase.

\. .A_multi-media public relations campaign aimed at physicians .

resulted in improVed attitudes and behavior tovardt.ne -sponsoringdompany even though no conscious identificatic of sponsor withadvertising was apparent.

. Three different methcis of cantalope in-store promotiondisplay were tested, and none of them had any effect on- sales.

. loud music caused shoEDers to spend less time in supermarkets..tha..n soft music, but had noeffect on sales or satisfactiOn.

3C3

2 1

General ConcluTn7 on Mass Commun: tions Effects

From the field experir A mab', c)1

conducted in real-iiii u behavior in the real world,

one may derive some general conclusions.

1. Single messages generally produce little if. any change

in behavior.

.2. Changes in aWareness, knowledge r attitude are generally

.unrelated to changes in behavior.

3. Some of the laboratory-established communications prin-

ciples work in real life, Others don't.,

4. Mass communications Can have negative effects, or no effect.

or positive effects.

5. A particular mass medium may be suitable for one 'product,"

not for another. Different media,reach different audiences and

serve different.functions.

6. Message content--what you say and how you say it--can make

or break a communications campaign. A subjectiVely-based "say

anything but say it loud campaign can have a boomerang effect.-I

7. Too much communication tan produce a boomerang effect..

Too 'little communication can do the same.

8. SoMe ,communications practices and theories are

harmful to the interided purpose. Some qCoMmon-sense-communications

practices can have boomerang effects.

.9. Immediate favorable effects of a communications campaign

diminish over time.

2 2

3C4

III D. General, Principles of Persuasion by Communication

A grear deal of basic research in human communication has been

co.ndUcted in the social and behavioral sciences, most of it. since

World War II. A great deal- is exemplified by a recent bibliogra-,

iphy on human communication by this writer which contains almost 100

pag,es'of single-spaced references (about two lines per reference).

Each'of these-hundreds of references concerns a separate

scientific investigation into some aspect of human communication.

Nest of them are controlled laboratory experiments into some.small

part of the communications process.

SinCe it is obviously impossible, and undesirable, in an over-t

view of this sort, to report the detailed findings froth all of.

these studies, one must use broader strokes of the brush. So far,

there:has been no single synthesis of all these findings into one

un-equivocal set of,principles or a coherent theory. However,

se-veral communications researchers have summarized detailed findings

in-Lo.what appear to be some.reasonablYvalid principles.

Some of the more useful summaries are in Abelson's PersuaSion

(1.59), Berelson-and Steiner's Human Behavior (.963); Cohen's

Attitude:,Change and Social Influence (1960, Hovland's Communication

and Persuasion ,;(1953), Bettinghaus' Persuasive Communication (1968);'

aogers' Me Diffusion of Innovation (1962).

These are only a few.

A-z th, potential research user can-see even the summaries grow

imp a forTddable, list.

Therefore, the attached list of ' rinciples"--really consisting

2 3

of empirically-verified hypotheses of varying degrees.of verifi-

cation-7can only be suggestive of the great bulk of existing know-

ledge about how to communicate effectively for fire prevention.

These principles are in general form--that is, they have not

been translated inlo aCtion principles for any specific purpose such

as communication for fire prevention.

The user must have already decided on two things, his criterion

objective or goal (i.e. , what it is he wants to accomplish) and his

target audience,(i.e., the group he wishes to influence).

Two more steps remain to be accomplished by the potential user

of theSe findings--(1) a translation from the general principle to

the specific message(0,of his .own purpose, and (2) a pre-test of

the specific message(s) or themes.

For example, take this general principle:

A two-sided communication:is likely to be more effectivethan a one-sided communication when trying to convert some-one with an opposing point of view to your own point ofview. A one-sided communication will be'more effectiveamong'thbse who are,unfamiliar with either,side or thosewho are already favorably disposed to your own side.

That is not a complete stateMent on the various aspeets of/-

using a two-sided and One,-sided message, but it will sufffce for

thiS examiple. The person wishing tb use this principle for fire

preventiOn must go through/a, translati/on process.

The translation stageby'someone who is familiar with the sit-

uation he is trying-to correct'or change isabsolutely essential to

the effective uSage of general principles. There are Tate a few

situations which need correcting, involving -quite a few target .

audiences of differing characteristics, and there are mahy general

.principles of communication which can be adapted. This means that

3D2

24

systematic planning of Comunications based on scientific principles

(and it certainly-shouldn't be done any other way) is not a matter ,

tb ,be decided-in one 6.fterhoon. Extensive thought and discuesion

on proper usage of the principles, bY persons who are,familiar with

...the problems; is necessary.

How sure can one be that these principles of communication will

work? They are a.great deal better than simply "winging it" or

making intuieive decisiOns without,benefit.ofany empirical evidence

It is a safe statement to maketthat they will increase markedly the

probability of successful communication but' they will not guarantee ,

it. And it is certainly better to choose a communications approach

that has some evidence' to back it up--even on a diTferent audience

or in a different situation--than to ignore the evidence 'or adt_

contrary to it.

l. Selected General Principlea

thia Overview of a few of the generally accepted-Conclusions,

findings and principlea of communication by no meana exhausts the

existing research evidence on effective human communication. These

few are taken from some-of the previously-mentioned sources.

A separate and more detailed following section will be devoted

to'fearsome-threatenin messages due toithe relevance ,and impor=.

tance of this topic in fire prevention.i

. PeOple tend-to see and hear Communicationa.that are 'favorableor congenial.totheir predispositions; they are"more likely to seeand hear congenial communicationathan heutral:or hoatile ones. ,

And the more-interested\they arein,the-subject,.the-more likely\is'such selective attehtion.

. 1

k

. Neutrals on an issue or_topic are unlikely to pay Much atten-,

tion to communications on. thatisaue Or topic, except when the clm7iminicationa._ are: .highly available.

i

.

.

/

Under a Mbnopoly of mass communicatibns, many members of ther

3D3

2

aUdience.can be brought to change their opinions in the desireddirection-7but even here there are important qualifications: (a) by.'-no means can all the members be brought to.change their positions;(b) the process takes time; and (c) the monopoly must be complete ornearly complete; if it is not, enough communications will, filter

' through to provide social support for the views of sizable numbersof people previously convinced of positions opposed to the monopo-list's position.

_ . Since audience attention is self-selective, exposure to ,com-munications in different media tends to be supplementary, not comple .mentary; that is, those who read about a topic also tend to listen,and those who pay attention at one time also tend to pay attentionat another.

. The use, and perhaps the effectiveness, of different mediavaries with the educational level of the audience--the higher theeducation, the greater.the reliance on print; the lower the edu-cation, the greater the reliance on aural and picture media. Thebetter educated are more likely than others to pay attention toserious communications dealing with aesthetic or moral or educationa:issues.

.

. People tend to misperceive' and miSinterpret persuasive com-munications in accordance with their own predispositions, by evadingthe message or by distorting it in a favorable.direction.

. The more trustworthy, credible, or prestigious the commUni-cator is perceived to be, the less manipulative his intentis con-.sidered to be and.the greater the,immediate tendency to-accept hisConclusions.

. The nature cf the source is especially effective in the caseof mbiguous orunstructured topics--i,e,, those topics_on whichthe content itself is not sufficiently'dominant, so that nOn-dontentfactors can take hold. And vice versa: a firm attitude toward thecontent will affect attitude toward an' ambiguouS or neutral source.

. People respond to persuasive communications in line withtheir predispOsitions, and'they change or resist change atcordingly..,CommunicationS,will be most effective--that is, m*ll secure theresponse Most in line with the intention of.the coMmunicator--when',they are in accord with audience' predispositions;, when they tellpeople what they (most) want to:be told.

. CoMmunications are most likely to_reinforce.existing position:then to activate latent positions, and least likely, to change or .

counter existing or latent positions (i.e., to convert),,

. The fuller the pre-existing informatiOn or interest, or the'more firmly held the prior attitudes, then the more TeceptiVe the

. audience.will be to congenial comminicoions and the More Tesistant,to uncongenial. ,Similarly, the'greater the audience's involvementand interest, the greater will.be its adqUisitiOn of informationand skillS.

2 6

3D4

. The communication of facts is typically ineffective inchanging opinions in desired directions against the force ofaudience predispositions: the stronger the predispositions, the_lesseffective the communication of facts.

. Particularly during an intensive political campaign -or acrisis of public events, exposure to the media of communication in-creases people's interest in the matter and raises the relevance ofthe issue for the audience.

. The relative effectiveness of different media depends to a.critical extent on what and for.whom (so that generalizations aredifficult).

. People with low self-esteem are more likely to be influencedpersuasive communications than are those with high self-esteem;

. those with acute neurotic symptoms (i.e., neurotic anxiety orot_ 3sional reactions) are more likely to be resistant.

. Active participation in the communicating itself--e.g.,passing on the message to someone else, making 4 speech about it,or simply putting it in one's own words--is more effective forretaining information and for persuading than is passive receptionof the communication.

. The mass media exercise an important indirect influencethrough "opinion leaders"--those trusted and informed people whoexist in virtually all primary groups, who are the "models'r foropinion within their group, who listen and read in the media, andwho then pass on information and influence to their.circle ofrelatives, friends, and acquaintances.

. Word-of-mouth or persbnal communication from an immediateand trusted source is typically more influential than media com*-munication from a remote and trusted source, despite the prestigeof the latter.

essage/Content Variables

. When the audience is generally friendly, or .when yourposition is the only one that will be presented, or when you,wantimmediate though temporary opinion change, present one side of theargument.

. When the audience starts out disagreeing with you, or whenit is probable thatthe audience.will hear the other side fromsomeone else, present both Sjrin nf the argument.--

. Th'ere will_probablyyou want if you explicitlythe audience draw their own.

,inion change in the direction7:lusions than if youl let

. Sometimes emotional appeals are more influential, som,:t;imesfactual ones. It all depends on the kind of message and kind ofaudience. 9 7,

3D5

. In time the effects of a persuasive communication tend towear off. aepeating a communication tends to prolong its influence..

. The people you may want most in your audience are oftenleast likely to be there.

The level of intelligence of an audience determines theeffectiveness of some kinds of appeals.

. There will.be more opinion change in the desired directionif the commUnicator has high credibility than if he has low credi-bility.

. A communicator's effe7:tiveness is .increased if he expresSessome views that are also hel by his audience.

Adoption of innovations and ,ocial Change

Impersonal informatio:: sources are most important at theawareness stage, and personal sources are most important at theevaluation stage in the adoption process.

. There is little evidence that lack of knowledge about inno-vations actually delays their adoption.

. ,Awareness occurs at a more rapid rate than does adoption.

The awareness-to-trial period is longer than the trial-to-adoption period.

A crisis emphasizes the relative advantage of an innovationand affects its rate of adoption.

. The complexity and the divisibility of an innovation affectthe rate of adoption.

. The communicability-of an innovation affects its rate ofadoption.

Characteristics of early adopters: .(a) younger; (b) highersocial status; (c) more favorable financial position;:(d) morespecialized operations; (e) utilize information sources that arein closer 'contact with the origin of new ideas; (f) utilize agreater number of information sources; (g) more cosmopolite(participate in non-local groups).; (h) more opinion leadership.

Personal influence from peers is (a) most important at theevaluation stage, (b) more important for late adopters, and (c)more important in uncertain situations.

, Social changeS, iowi

involved can be assim:that are not desireonly at considerabl

larn tTat are desired by the peoplesocial disruption. Changesones, can be put into effect

_La. .1 personal cost.

3D6

2 8

The mcr., r

raditionalet change Fal dison:

Social

WithHn:luently_ture (e.g., t

in the lessmre instrumentEciimpetitive goa]primary groupsystems of pres-thn in the rs'C

si)ciety than in(f) in periods (_

periods; (g) via

. The leadelto come from theto come from deviE

Innovatorsthan the resisteroriented to the (

adopt the new id.

2. Fearsome an:

Many comrm _

,at the prevent_

large number c.

effects of feal

E,ecause of

change thr.---2.atens or appears 70 threatenf the society, the greater the resistance2eater its attendant cost in 7ccial and

more likely to occur in heterenous:,.rieous ones.

, social chan7e is likely to occur moreLly: (a) in 1:_le material aspects of the7) than in the nonmaterial (e.g., values);=ss emotionally charged, less sacred,-nical aspects (e.g., toolS, tactics,onal- means) than in the opposite (e.g.,territorial and religious stability,

) in the simple elements of the Society(d) in the nonsymbolic elements of tile

.olic oneS; (e) in form than in substance;and stress than in normal or quiescent

iies than via the countryside.

ajor soCial changes in a society are unlikelytraditionally in control; they are more aptarginal, disaffected groups .

n a society are more likelynange, of higher social staworld; moreover, they takractice and they discontinu

7

to be yoUnger7us, and moreless time toless often.

_ening Messages

s campaigns (but by no means all) are aimed

_desirable consequences, and a relatively

oh studies have been concerned with the

_ threatening messages on such topics.

f.elevance of such "threat-appeal" research to

fire prevention com:ounications, a review of the pertinent research

is appropriate here.

Some of the conclusions by Higbee (1969) in reviewing 27

threat-appeal studies are presented below, along with qualifying/-"L

comments by this writer.

.1. The el.' threat-appeals vary in different situation

Some studies sL no7threat is more effective, others tha

3D7

29

t is mor ot iers t hizh-threat is more

effe ore experiments have found hig th eat ri-Joer:or 7ow.

tnreE 7-_o-reat the reerse,

hc.. re. er, ,-e bas d prin,L on labo.ratory

experi- :h may not be -,rali-able 7 e self-selecti-,re

volunt r Jtion sit.atic. inheren-3 in re .ife mass com:launi-

catiol. jdition, the results deal mainly ._-± va7tally exproz-

sed attitude rEt-r than 'ilehavior

-:umstan:7es abow, 77_Ie additional con-

_s be drawn frcm ::isting research

_ateningmessages are more effec7:,7e if recommende:ions

for the danger are included.

:ommendations are more persuasive if they are specific,

ment: and demons7,rab1y effective

some messages are more effective among some kinds of

=_Inong others. Higthreat is more ffective among

pe, ligh self-esteem, low-threat more so among those with

lo --,..oaerr.. Results also vary acCording to sex, age and ed-

uc. r.

__,..,-h-threat messages are more effective when the source

is :Je. credible, low-threat messages 7-_ore so with an

an non-credible source.

5. :.-threat messages may be more effective on unfamiliar

low-threat may be more effective on familiar:topics.

6. -threat message.: may be more affectiVe on highly

(e.g., canc while low- qreat messages may be

more ell- nnr less-impol -t t g., tooth decay).

It m1_,.5: clear t.L, these ar

sistenc-

concern-:d wit

as subjects, u

ferent kinds ef q or beha-,--ior, and tiffered in :Ther

major respec_t:

One hyp

is a fdllo,,

the more the

This ourvili. 7.7

ditional facTo=.

udies tot alw

J,ntati7e Een.7,-ra

7 (: ince:

udies is to that they ' be,

.2ferf--._-_t topics, employiTiF. ..jferent kind=, ,f peol

'erent medLa of measu-_-

emparisAt and summa tenuous.

oredict ce consequ- of threaT_ e_-)peals

:er the t.:Ireat-leve n 2 certa..± point,

Eeye.

from iri =ing me.:zsges rest: -a ".",Wo ad-

levEL :f actual dccer in-

volved, the ETreat:. possii-,Le

more dan,7erc.: -LT--

event is -o

tooth d, :ay

of dangrousr.f,7,.

fering Dptima_ livFire pre

experirnentati

-sage (e.g. _ancer is

7-th eca-); _; the mc:-=, likely dangerous

greatel-- the )ssie iessage ef 'ects. (e.g.,

.:ely to occur than .aner.) Th interactien

tbabil__ty-of-cccur-.2e:-Lce will 1±, to dif-

f threapneal ._:Jage on diffe:srat topics.

atear :o be an ideal topic further

-nreat-appea_ for va.l.iety of r

IV. Eammarv and Conclusions

An intensive'review of all-available pu__ _ reports was

2onducted to determine the possible effects Df .::=Jnications

mrograms aimed at the general public for the p of ?revemting

household fires. The term 'communications" -7-erpre-led broadly .

to include personal contacts, though the ...7hasis is on

coMmunications-education-information.campai,Ems .7.L.ss media. The

search included hundreds of research journaLT. :ther sources,

in the fields of communications, safety, behavioral

research.

The principal conclusions are as follow_

(1) Relatively few household fire prey- communications

campaigns have been reported, relative to C.7j::HI ics such as

traffic safety.

-(2) There has been even less research effects of fire

prevention campaigns:

(3) Such research as has been reported 1 inconclusive on

communications effectiveness. In short, no evidence is

available as to whether public communicationE Jamraizns can affect

household fire prevention.

(4) Regarding the possible effectivene E. of s..2::h carmaigns,

one can only speculate based on analogous .corc..7:unf.,;ations research

from other fields--traffic safety,.mass adver7,istaa, non-commercial

'promotional efforts9 and basic research on co=munations.

(5) Even in the case of the many traffic anj cfner safety

communications campaigns, there.is little rig:rou research on

3 2

_3S ccm.nunicle.. , has ha:, de7.1cnst,-a fa-crable

eL:17- :me cases. ver ch has been fcr the

ampaiEns th.L ne: :ssary rf3search.

the case of . '.LJ..caticns

and . sDmewhat

omuncaticns ha7e had a .si :.:.fect on

behavi a: sales, 7: practic an Loption of

new pract_ces. -;thers effect.

Still )thers ha7: had no -c

(7) A number of ples of ccmnu: .

icave

been empirically derived frcm -Ire7i,ous resear.::1 ')t.:1'y areas.-

Th-ese nrincioleo can be useful in planning ft:176-- campaign:.

and id:crease thE: probabilit: c:-success, pa=ic :1: if accom-

panied by Dre-testing research a:Id evaluation 1.-ez-, on effects.

ae use of threat-appeals in fire prevec7lic.7 TampaiLT.n7,

has nt been scientifically cested. From use on 7.1r. .;opics,

hcwevr, sorry- guidelines are available for the use c:7- n:n-use-of

fear: :me and threateTing messages. Theseshou171 be thoroughly

beforr: actual asage..

(9) :eneral onclusic on the possibl.: ::21=cti-ness f

campais aimed at hous oh fise oreven:_or:

is -,)rc'_ar. (This must noce7-- _tly be an :in:

no --Aence awlilaL 2rom other fields.

can 'Leff:,ctive if TTop.:.,_1-T. __:_.nced based on

and IL 7-,7ompanied by pr77)er rr,:search to detere

Use knowledge and proc,Eldres gained frc.::: -he Terienc

other_ can optimize the probal_±1.-ity of success f c nreverdtd_

2)

I

"1 C

Sel

;lS 1, _7t ert. Persut, 170).

Iem.onstrati:provi.ded tT

study t.Ala.,

rel _:-17-nari' and

FindingE:. .

,

' -er, 1959 (2nd

I.njury .Thntrol Program.'_onal .afety Cclncil, Chicago,Jeffe -son Ccu Health Department,

T:reSE,

G. human Leh' -ior: An Inventory of, Harcc-7 Frace and "vicrld,

Erwin. Fersua_ C)MMUELCL._ New York: Holt,/tnston,

i'11.:_--ray. (Ed.). II._ Denver ori Kass Communi-cT1:71..E -_=_eserch for f;a---do:-_al Safety

19t4.:

Chambe-rs, Fire Educati= The Appar,_ TTfectivenessof a.7.1esearch Orgai 'ation Fire Research

Tte N. 636, pt. 19c (England).

ake Ledcester Fire-Elf Campatgn: F..se Alarm Statstics."7...int Tire Research C.-7::s:Lization Fire .esear:.h Note Ao. 777,

cIngiand).

_a.ke Leicester Ft7,7af Campign: Sai.ics of Fires inJoint 71r: zlesearc:1 Organ11 Fire Research

-,Dte -H. 802, FP. 19-: (Engld).

Chip-Pa Effi: Fire Frequency."-tre esear ar1zat Fire '.:7.rch Note No.

197(.

, 7. ti nge. and Z,Dcial Iruerce. New YorEast_ ..oks

f31 %-ertising Ltrate:ists: I." Harvard'1-inec-s Re- Sepi, -Oct. L60-176. (also in

3-6-39G!.

3trategi_sts: I: Harvard BusinessL9:1, 3, 7c -Dec., 16D-182. _lso Ln Boyd,tn Aanageme:- , 149-165 .

di.N "Firemen's, Cut Fije Ha: -n thr H-,Alio: ni anr Public :-rvices j7urnn- I_

3 4

Griessman, B.]. The F :.'oetT-.::--itetention of Fire Pre-:.-ention:1.4essa es: An As 7,ct-c T,c7munica:ion Hesea_rch. ootoraldissertation, Loisia ate Universit:- 3a:on1966. (Lissertat-__on 1967, 27,

E. How toNem Yorh: AdvertisinE -earch ioundation,

Re3earch Eib1iqE_Ta71, -:'rinciT.,les of Commliniz:i?n a.1,7(1PersuasLon. Syra,-:TeCenter, 1969, .-lecgraphred.

''1_.ffects of Safez C.7.7-icatdcr_ Campaizns: Re-,-iew ofTesearch EViaenc . 7=a1 of :.z.fety 1969.,

12, 58-6E.

esea:c1 JT. t'L-:e Effects of Mass ComnanicationS ty Campaigns, Jo:1=2 of Safet7 Researc, 1;17O, 22,

Sc-me of Pessin. a:TE ase 1.7niversityC=un-Lcations (=imeographed)

Hiatee, Kenneth L. Fifteen Years of Fear Arc-asal: .7-esearchThreat ;_ppeals, __5'53-1--S8, PsycnologicaL 1969)72:6, 425-444.

Hopkins, Claude. Soieific Ad7-ertisi.n7. New York: andThomas, 1923 (re-i:suEL I): Crown ?Ublis-ng C 1966).

Lffectiveness of Fi.17e D=:monstrations.Public: Health 1967, 32:7, 645-6L9,

Ho- .and, Carl, et J. CcEnunica7ion and Persu.:Ision, HavYale, 1953 :963).

= s ,

Uric of o7F=Lew statement fromn _n 1 revertion3ete.h 13.

ka.E :7,, 'dal-. car:- Syring, E.M. )reu--. Study JfLet7.ers! Fife' :,iveness of Warnng .etters in

_ . .

7-rafLo Safety Rese. 7iew, 1967,11:3, J.7-72.

La: S. and e11, An Ex--)eriment un the Effec of SI.), -;_=:]ly

:..esLEmed 3afe-ty Post-s." ,ocuration.,: sychol:14, 153--

L.L. -0 Protpc r. tne Fire Resarchanc. -. -:1, 1-14.

_ 'Analysis Fire Prevention ,_-ogaLs.' Jcfnt TireEesearcn Jrzanizatior ire 1-_esearch Note Jo. 733, Nc".. 112'70

E. 111-,e Diffusion of innovation. Glenco, N.Y.: Free ?..ess,1962.

3 5

B. Easkins--Bio,traphical resume (October, 1972)

'Present position (1)71- 615-9714-5155)

'Professor of Cammunications end Chairman of 7-:aduate Studies and Research

*College of Communications, Thiversity of Tennez'see, Knocville, Tamn. 37916

(1966-77) John-Ben Snc;: Resea_rch Professor (an endoved 0cc mill_Lon dollar chair),

School of Journalio7m, Syracuse Umivrsity*

(1963-66) I:DIANA UN:ITERSITY: Chairman, Ph.D. Program in-MESS Communication;Professor of Courtadism: Director, *Bureau of 21edie. and Oninion Research

(1961-63) FORD DIVISION, FORD ME:GR CO.: Manager of Adtvertisin.-7 Research

(1956-61) CURTIS PUBLISH:NG CC.: Senior Research Exec'ative

(1951-56) U.;IV. OF /aNNESOTA: Instructor, and Assistamt Researoh Director, Journalism(1952-5L) U_S. NAVY (military lea-eh Naval Aviator;, Public Information Officer

(1950-51) E7!ORY U7IVERSPTY, Atlanta: Graduate researCh assistant19149-50) GAI7ESVILLE (Ga.) 17EWE AND RADIC STAT:37 IIEM: News editor AP&UP

corresmondent=V. OF GEORG:A: EmuCent, School of J:urnalism; rafio announcerU.S. NAVY: Naval A7-Lamor

(19649)(l943 :6)

Education'Ph.D., Univ. of Ilinnescta (1959)'M.A., Emory Univ. (1951)'A.B., Univ. of Georri:ia..., Phi Beta Kcoa (1949)

Professional, honors, etc.Who's Who in AmericaAmerican Men of ScienceFounder and member, Council on 1:.e- par_er Research and Develcmment (C)NRAD) 1967-

Editoi4ial board, Journal of Safe- Fesrch

Crganisation membershioAssoc:Lation for Education in JournL.Lism (AIC

Amer. Asan. for Public Opinion Ree.archl (APP:P..American Psychological Association 'AFA).American Narketing Association (Al:t,.)

National .Safety Councii, Public :uf^rmation 2cm--,itoee

Publications Summary4 monographs; 22 articZ27 articles-colunms as49 research project rec.

CURTIS);Numerous consultant(Non-research artiol-

Atlanta JOUTT1.Bulletin,

es professional journ.als; Lt chapters in tooi:;

Journalism Fesearch oolumnizt for Editor .(.1.nci, Pdblisher;

nrts proprietary :_earch for FORD,

; speechs i;ircfessional

ieaaur .s in Satuay 7.-lening Post, )7-ii.r,nta Constitution,

:the-7's Star-

r. rmzines arLI TewspaLens; Asz;c:ziated Prer.s" United Press)

Consultant on research and commumication tc:U.S. Department of Health, Education an.i Welfare; InjurT Ontrol Program,

U.S. Environmental Contrl !Administration; Fetional CommLssion on Causes and

Prevention of Violence (7asihington); Populaoion Councii cf North Caroline(Chapel Hill; U.S. Infmrmation Arency (Washington); Erati.mnal Academy of

Sciences/National Research Council (WashinEtcn); National Fefety Council

(Chicago); Carnegie Foundiatfon for International Peace York); Computer

la.rketing:Corp. (Syracuse, N.Y.); A.J. Wood Research Corp_ (Philadelphia);

American Oil Connoany:(ChicE..:o); Ford Nator :3ompany (Dearborn, Mich.);

Anheuser-Busch, Inc. (t. Louis); Bristol-Nyers, Inc. (New york); Benton and

Bowles, Inc. (New Yorin); Ogilvy-Mather.. Ltd. (Toronto: DuPont of.Canada, Ltd.(Montreal); tfulti-Media, Inc. (Montrr-ry, Ala.); ana; miscellaneous individual

mass media

36