Investigated the relationship between fear aroused by a communication and attitude change toward the advocated remedies, using 60 male college freshmen as Ss. 2 groups of Ss received an identical fear-arousing communication concerning mumps, but 1 group also heard prearranged increases in perceived heart rate during the communication. A 3rd group heard a low-fear communication. The fear manipulations were successful; the lowest fear occurred in the low-fear communication condition. The group that heard the bogus heart rate reported more fear than the group that heard the identical communication without heart-rate feedback. Reported intention to take a free vaccination was high in all conditions; however, actual shot-taking was curvilinearly related to fear. Ss in the moderate-fear condition were more likely to get the vaccination than Ss in the other 2 conditions. This result provides some support for I. Janis's defensive avoidance hypothesis. (27 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)