Abstract: This study investigated young millennials’ risk perception, benefit perception, and purchase intention toward GM foods by testing the effects of source credibility and risk attitude. By comparing two samples collected in the U.S. (N = 207) and China (N = 242), we found that source credibility positively influenced benefit perceptions of GM foods among Chinese millennial consumers. Results also revealed risk attitude significantly influenced both American and Chinese millennial consumers’ intention to purchase GM foods. Furthermore, a significant interaction effect between source credibility and risk attitude was found on Chinese millennial consumers’ risk perception of GM foods.
Topic: risk perception
Infectious Disease Risk (IDR) Perception and Prospective Tourists’ Travel Intention to a Mega-sport Event Host Country: The Mediating Role of Risk Information Seeking
Abstract: While risk perception has been the subject of many sport tourism studies, much remains to be linked with risk information seeking, travel-related response, and behavior in the sport tourism contexts. Previous studies lacked evidence-based literature to examine the effect of risk perception on travel decisions in the case of risks associated with infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Analyzing data from an online survey of American and South Korean adults (N = 537) who had a willingness to international travel, this study expands the scope of the study in risk information of prospective tourists by explaining how IDR perception among prospective tourists through the media leads to travel intentions to a host region. Among the key findings, prospective tourists who perceived COVID-19 as highly risky tend to feel less safe traveling to a host region. Our findings also revealed a positive relationship between information seeking and risk perception. This study sheds light on the importance of understanding the role of IDR perception in risk information management for a mega-sport event host country by providing the most up-to-date real-world pandemic case, which has critically impacted the global sport tourism and risk management fields.
“Communicating during an Outbreak or Public Health Investigation”
Abstract: Epidemiologists and medical investigators deployed to disease outbreaks and public health investigations involving illness and deaths often need to communicate the journalists, local officials, and community members. This chapter identifies and describes the communication approaches and principles needed for effective communication. Drawing from professional experience and published research, this chapter provides epidemiologists and medical investigators overviews and guidance on risk perception and communication, examples of messages used to facilitate trust during an outbreak response, working with the media, and effective messaging.
Feeling the weight of calories: Using haptic feedback as virtual exemplars to promote risk perception among young females on unhealthy snack choices
Abstract: Virtual simulations allow users to feel and manipulate objects as they would in the physical world. Guided by exemplification theory and risk communication research, a virtual exemplar was developed to allow users to feel the weight of the caloric density of unhealthy snacks (e.g., potato chips) to heighten risk perceptions on snack choices. A 3 (base-rate statistics, print exemplar, virtual exemplar) × 3 (Time 1, Time 2, Time 3) mixed design experiment (N= 152) compared the effect of three mediated modes of delivering health information at baseline, immediately after, and one week after treatments. Virtual exemplars led to greater spatial presence, issue involvement, and recommended health behavior than base-rate statistics or print exemplars, but had no effect on perceived vividness. Heightened perceived susceptibility following virtual exemplars persisted for one week. Findings emphasized the importance of spatial presence elicited by an exemplar in heightening the perceived susceptibility of health risks both immediately after and one week after exposure. The role of spatial presence and vividness in the context of virtual exemplars that afford the illusion of firsthand experiences is discussed and compared against traditional exemplification research that has focused on the impact of secondhand experiences.
Virtual exemplars in health promotion campaigns: Heightening perceived risk and involvement to reduce soft drink consumption in young adults.
Abstract: Virtual simulations allow individuals to concretely view future negative health consequences of present dietary choices. Integrating exemplification theory with risk communication research, the effect of using virtual simulations to exemplify health risks of soft drink consumption was assessed across three weeks. A three-group pre-test, post-test, delayed post-test design (N= 62) compared the effect of three channelsof delivering health risk information—base-rate statistics, picture, and virtual simulation—embedded in a digital health promotion pamphlet. Three dimensions of risk perception (perceived likelihood, susceptibility, severity), involvement with the health issue, and soft drink consumption were measured across three weeks. Virtual exemplars were the most effective channel to increase perceived likelihood, perceived susceptibility, involvement, and soft drink consumption over time. Exemplification did not affect perceived severity. The paper discusses virtual exemplars’ potential as a powerful tool in designing effective health messages.
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.