Did you grow up with a mother who slathered on the guilt? It may have been frustrating, but research shows that it was an effective way to get your attention and alter your behavior.

The results from the first empirical study on stated intentions and actual behavior are in and they look like this:

“Smoking pot may not kill you, but it will kill your mother.”

This recent ad from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America is an example of using a message based in fear and guilt to deter potentially harmful behavior. Research has found that such tough-love approaches are more effective at changing behavior than positive or hopeful messages.

“Making people feel good is less important than making people feel accountable when it comes to making wise decisions about self-protection,” explain Kirsten Passyn of Salisbury University and Mita Sujan of Tulane University in the March 2006 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research.

With so many opportunities to change our behavior and improve our health — we can use more sunscreen, quit smoking, eat more green veggies — being pushed into it may not be so bad. If advertisers follow Drug-Free America’s example we could be tricked into taking better care of ourselves. Fear and guilt are a powerful combination.

[via University of Chicago Press Journals]

Image: purdue.edu