Emotional Appeals, Mobilizing through

Volunteerism, voting, and other forms of citizen participation are important ingredients in a healthy society. The actions of citizens, working alone and working in concert, have been instrumental in bringing about social change and addressing a wide range of social problems. In fact, it has been argued that instances in which individuals and groups take action in order to respond to society's needs are not merely helpful, but play an essential role in combating the problems that face the world (Snyder, 1993). Keywords: affective intelligence theory; anger; citizen participation; emotional appeal; empathy; empathy-altruism model; empathy-induced helping; enthusiasm appeal; fear appeal; guilt; motivation; problem of inaction; prosocial behavior