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Some Criteria for Evaluating Risk Messages

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  • Neil D. Weinstein
  • Peter M. Sandman

Abstract

Seven criteria are presented for use in evaluating communications designed to explain the magnitude of a risk. The criteria are: (1) comprehension (Does the audience understand the content of the communication?); (2) agreement (Does the audience agree with the recommendation or interpretation contained in the message?); (3) dose‐response consistency (Do people facing a higher dose of a hazard perceive the risk as greater and/or show a greater readiness to take action than people exposed to a lower dose of this hazard?); (4) hazard‐response consistency (Do people facing a hazard that is higher in risk perceive the risk as greater and/or show a greater readiness to take action than people exposed to a hazard that is lower in risk?); (5) uniformity (Do audience members exposed to the same level of risk tend to have the same responses to this risk?); (6) audience evaluation (Does the audience judge the message to have been helpful, accurate, clear, etc.?); and (7) types of communication failures (When different types of failures are possible, are the failures that occur generally of the more acceptable variety?). Each of these criteria is illustrated with data collected in a test of message formats designed to explain the risk presented by radon gas in a home.

Suggested Citation

  • Neil D. Weinstein & Peter M. Sandman, 1993. "Some Criteria for Evaluating Risk Messages," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(1), pages 103-114, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:riskan:v:13:y:1993:i:1:p:103-114
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.1993.tb00733.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Branden B. Johnson, 2008. "Public Views on Drinking Water Standards as Risk Indicators," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1515-1530, December.
    2. Dolores J. Severtson & Jeffrey D. Myers, 2013. "The Influence of Uncertain Map Features on Risk Beliefs and Perceived Ambiguity for Maps of Modeled Cancer Risk from Air Pollution," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(5), pages 818-837, May.
    3. James G. Dolan & Feng Qian & Peter J. Veazie, 2012. "How Well Do Commonly Used Data Presentation Formats Support Comparative Effectiveness Evaluations?," Medical Decision Making, , vol. 32(6), pages 840-850, November.
    4. Branden B. Johnson, 2003. "Do Reports on Drinking Water Quality Affect Customers' Concerns? Experiments in Report Content," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(5), pages 985-998, October.
    5. Branden B. Johnson, 2003. "Communicating Air Quality Information: Experimental Evaluation of Alternative Formats," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(1), pages 91-103, February.
    6. Donald W. Hine & Kirsten Clarke & Anthony D. G. Marks & Methuen I. Morgan, 2019. "Feelings About Fracking: Using the Affect Heuristic to Understand Opposition to Coal Seam Gas Production," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(3), pages 586-598, March.
    7. Bryan L. Williams & Sylvia Brown & Michael Greenberg & Mokbul A. Kahn, 1999. "Risk Perception in Context: The Savannah River Site Stakeholder Study," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(6), pages 1019-1035, December.
    8. Neil D. Weinstein & Kathryn Kolb & Bernard D. Goldstein, 1996. "Using Time Intervals Between Expected Events to Communicate Risk Magnitudes," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(3), pages 305-308, June.
    9. Paul M. Jakus & W. Douglass Shaw, 1996. "An Empirical Analysis of Rock Climbers' Response to Hazard Warnings," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(4), pages 581-586, August.
    10. Nancy A. Connelly & Barbara A. Knuth, 1998. "Evaluating Risk Communication: Examining Target Audience Perceptions About Four Presentation Formats for Fish Consumption Health Advisory Information," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(5), pages 649-659, October.
    11. Michael Siegrist, 1997. "Communicating Low Risk Magnitudes: Incidence Rates Expressed as Frequency Versus Rates Expressed as Probability," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(4), pages 507-510, August.
    12. Michael Lindell & Shih-Kai Huang & Hung-Lung Wei & Charles Samuelson, 2016. "Perceptions and expected immediate reactions to tornado warning polygons," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 80(1), pages 683-707, January.
    13. Carmen Keller & Michael Siegrist & Heinz Gutscher, 2006. "The Role of the Affect and Availability Heuristics in Risk Communication," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(3), pages 631-639, June.

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