The role of risk tolerance in the publics’ health risk perception and responses

Abstract: To better understand how uncertainty influences publics’ risk perception and responses, this study introduced risk tolerance as a new concept to public relations literature and then investigated how publics react to health risks with different temporal distances: climate change and foodborne illness. Through an online survey, this study found out that uncertainty induced by risk temporal distance, leads to varied risk tolerance, which subsequently influences where and how people seek and share risk information.