Storms, Fires, and Bombs: Analyzing the Impact of Warning Message and Receiver Characteristics on Risk Perception in Different Hazards
Autor: | Silke Schmidt, Samuel Tomczyk, Maxi Rahn |
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Rok vydání: | 2020 |
Předmět: |
Adult
Male Risk Adolescent media_common.quotation_subject 0211 other engineering and technologies Poison control 02 engineering and technology 010501 environmental sciences Bombs 01 natural sciences Suicide prevention Occupational safety and health Fires Random Allocation Young Adult Physiology (medical) Injury prevention Humans Safety Risk Reliability and Quality Weather 0105 earth and related environmental sciences media_common Aged Aged 80 and over 021110 strategic defence & security studies Human factors and ergonomics Middle Aged Hazard Risk perception Female Perception Worry Psychology Clinical psychology |
Zdroj: | Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk AnalysisREFERENCES. 41(9) |
ISSN: | 1539-6924 |
Popis: | In crisis communication, warning messages are key to prevent or mitigate damage by informing the public about impending risks and hazards. The present study explored the influence of hazard type, trait anxiety, and warning message on different components of risk perception. A survey examined 614 German participants (18–96 years, M = 31.64, 63.0% female) using a pre–post comparison. Participants were randomly allocated to one of five hazards (severe weather, act of violence, breakdown of emergency number, discovery of a World War II bomb, or major fire) for which they received a warning message. Four components of risk perception (perceived severity, anticipatory worry, anticipated emotions, and perceived likelihood) were measured before and after the receipt. Also, trait anxiety was assessed. Analyses of covariance of risk perception were calculated, examining the effect of warning message, trait anxiety, and hazard type while controlling for age, gender, and previous hazard experience. Results showed main effects of hazard type and trait anxiety on every component of risk perception, except for perceived likelihood. The receipt of a warning message led to a significant decrease in anticipated negative emotions. However, changes across components of risk perception, as well as hazards, were inconsistent, as perceived severity decreased while perceived likelihood and anticipatory worry increased. In addition, three interactional effects were found (perceived severity × hazard type, perceived severity × trait anxiety, and anticipated emotions × hazard type). The findings point toward differences in the processing of warning messages yet underline the importance of hazard type, as well as characteristics of the recipient. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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