Children's acceptance of safety guidelines after exposure to televised dramas depicting accidents

Grade-school children were exposed to a scene from a movie involving one of two activities (either fire- or water-related activities) and involving one of two outcomes (fatal accidents or neutral events). Later, they were taught safety guidelines appropriate to the subject matter of the event they had watched (i.e., either fire safety or water safety). The results indicated that watching the dramatized accidents increased students' estimated importance of adopting safety guidelines and their perceptions of the dangerousness of not complying. The results are discussed in terms of fear appeals research and media theory and in terms of their practical implications for promoting safety.