How can awareness measures use PMT to change behavior — and why must they NEVER address the threat side alone?
Make the threat real AND simplify the coping — fear without a concrete action option leads to suppression (Verdrängung), not protection.
The two intervention levers:
- Bedrohung real machen — show concretely how the threat works and how it causes damage: live demos, real cases (Signal-Leak!), simulated phishing. Abstract "be careful out there" doesn't move the appraisal.
- Bewältigung vereinfachen — communicate clear, simple protective actions: lower the Handlungskosten, strengthen Selbstwirksamkeit ("you can spot this — here are the three signs").
The critical warning: always work on both sides. If people feel helpless (low self-efficacy) while fear is cranked up (high severity), they shut down — too much anxiety without an action option is psychologically resolved by denial, not by behavior change. Horror-only campaigns ("hackers will destroy everything!") produce exactly the opposite of their intent.
Tip: Quick audit for any awareness material: does it (a) make the threat concrete and (b) end with a doable action? Missing either half = redesign.