IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/riskan/v31y2011i3p450-465.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Role of Emotions in Risk Communication

Author

Listed:
  • Xiao‐Fei Xie
  • Mei Wang
  • Ruo‐Gu Zhang
  • Jie Li
  • Qing‐Yuan Yu

Abstract

We present two experiments investigating the role of emotions concerning technological and natural hazards. In the first experiment, technological hazards aroused stronger emotions, and were considered to be riskier than natural hazards. No differences were found between the texts versus audio presentations. However, the presence of pictures aroused stronger emotions and increased the perceived risk. Emotions play a mediating role between hazard types and perceived risk, as well as between pictures and perceived risk. The second experiment adopted real‐world materials from webpages and TV. Emotions again play a mediating role between pictorial information and risk perception. Moreover, specific emotions were found to be associated with different types of action tendencies. For example, loss‐based emotions (e.g., fear, regret) tend to lead to prevention strategies, whereas ethical emotions (e.g., anger) lead to aggressive behavior. We also find that loss‐based emotions in the technical hazard scenario trigger more coping strategies (from prevention to retaliation) than in the natural hazard scenario.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiao‐Fei Xie & Mei Wang & Ruo‐Gu Zhang & Jie Li & Qing‐Yuan Yu, 2011. "The Role of Emotions in Risk Communication," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 450-465, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:riskan:v:31:y:2011:i:3:p:450-465
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.2010.01530.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2010.01530.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2010.01530.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cryder, Cynthia E. & Lerner, Jennifer & Gross, James J. & Dahl, Ronald E., 2008. "Misery Is Not Miserly," Scholarly Articles 37093805, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    2. Paul Slovic, 1999. "Trust, Emotion, Sex, Politics, and Science: Surveying the Risk‐Assessment Battlefield," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(4), pages 689-701, August.
    3. Gregory W. Fischer & M. Granger Morgan & Baruch Fischhoff & Indira Nair & Lester B. Lave, 1991. "What Risks Are People Concerned About," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(2), pages 303-314, June.
    4. Holbrook, Morris B & Batra, Rajeev, 1987. "Assessing the Role of Emotions as Mediators of Consumer Responses to Advertising," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 14(3), pages 404-420, December.
    5. Erika A. Waters, 2008. "Feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling at-risk: a review of incidental affect's influence on likelihood estimates of health hazards and life events," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(5), pages 569-595, July.
    6. MacInnis, Deborah J & Price, Linda L, 1987. "The Role of Imagery in Information Processing: Review and Extensions," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 13(4), pages 473-491, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Soohee Kim & Yong-Chan Kim, 2021. "Attention to News Media, Emotional Responses, and Policy Preferences about Public Health Crisis: The Case of Fine Dust Pollution in South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-17, December.
    2. Zhiyong Yang & Ritesh Saini & Traci Freling, 2015. "How Anxiety Leads to Suboptimal Decisions Under Risky Choice Situations," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 35(10), pages 1789-1800, October.
    3. Jounghwa Choi & Kyung-Hee Kim, 2022. "The Differential Consequences of Fear, Anger, and Depression in Response to COVID-19 in South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-13, May.
    4. Michelle Webb & Kevin R. Ronan, 2014. "Interactive Hazards Education Program for Youth in a Low SES Community: A Quasi‐Experimental Pilot Study," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(10), pages 1882-1893, October.
    5. Soohee Kim, 2021. "The Role of Discrete Emotions in Risk Perception and Policy Support during Public Health Crises: The Moderation Effect of SNS Dependency," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-16, November.
    6. Dominic Balog‐Way & Katherine McComas & John Besley, 2020. "The Evolving Field of Risk Communication," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(S1), pages 2240-2262, November.
    7. Hua Wu & Taiwen Feng & Wenbo Jiang & Ting Kong, 2022. "Environmental Penalties, Investor Attention and Stock Market Reaction: Moderating Roles of Air Pollution and Industry Saliency," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-27, February.
    8. Michèle Marti & Michael Stauffacher & Jörg Matthes & Stefan Wiemer, 2018. "Communicating Earthquake Preparedness: The Influence of Induced Mood, Perceived Risk, and Gain or Loss Frames on Homeowners’ Attitudes Toward General Precautionary Measures for Earthquakes," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(4), pages 710-723, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Branden B. Johnson & Adam M. Finkel, 2016. "Public Perceptions of Regulatory Costs, Their Uncertainty and Interindividual Distribution," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 36(6), pages 1148-1170, June.
    2. Hartmann, Patrick & Apaolaza, Vanessa & D'Souza, Clare & Echebarria, Carmen & Barrutia, Jose M., 2013. "Nuclear power threats, public opposition and green electricity adoption: Effects of threat belief appraisal and fear arousal," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1366-1376.
    3. Roxanne E. Lewis & Michael G. Tyshenko, 2009. "The Impact of Social Amplification and Attenuation of Risk and the Public Reaction to Mad Cow Disease in Canada," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 714-728, May.
    4. Garaus, Marion & Hudáková, Melánia, 2022. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourists’ air travel intentions: The role of perceived health risk and trust in the airline," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    5. Jong-Woo Jun & Jun-Hyuk Cho & Ji-Hoon Lee, 2021. "Why Do Koreans Love Ethnic Players in the MLB? A Focus on Ethnic Identity and Player Identification," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-10, November.
    6. Wang, Fei & Yuan, Yu & Lu, Liangdong, 2021. "Dynamical prediction model of consumers’ purchase intentions regarding anti-smog products during smog risk: Taking the information flow perspective," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 563(C).
    7. Ma, Jie & Tse, Ying Kei & Wang, Xiaojun & Zhang, Minhao, 2019. "Examining customer perception and behaviour through social media research – An empirical study of the United Airlines overbooking crisis," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 192-205.
    8. Pam A. Mueller & Lawrence M. Solan & John M. Darley, 2012. "When Does Knowledge Become Intent? Perceiving the Minds of Wrongdoers," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(4), pages 859-892, December.
    9. Yan, Jubo & Kniffin, Kevin M. & Kunreuther, Howard C. & Schulze, William D., 2020. "The roles of reason and emotion in private and public responses to terrorism," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 778-796.
    10. Patrick Krieger & Carsten Lausberg, 2021. "Entscheidungen, Entscheidungsfindung und Entscheidungsunterstützung in der Immobilienwirtschaft: Eine systematische Literaturübersicht [Decisions, decision-making and decisions support systems in r," Zeitschrift für Immobilienökonomie (German Journal of Real Estate Research), Springer;Gesellschaft für Immobilienwirtschaftliche Forschung e. V., vol. 7(1), pages 1-33, April.
    11. Tobias Effertz & Marie-Kristin Franke & Thorsten Teichert, 2014. "Adolescents’ Assessments of Advertisements for Unhealthy Food: an Example of Warning Labels for Soft Drinks," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 279-299, June.
    12. Septianto, Felix & Ye, Sheng & Northey, Gavin, 2021. "The effectiveness of advertising images in promoting experiential offerings: An emotional response approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 344-352.
    13. Puccinelli, Nancy M. & Goodstein, Ronald C. & Grewal, Dhruv & Price, Robert & Raghubir, Priya & Stewart, David, 2009. "Customer Experience Management in Retailing: Understanding the Buying Process," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 85(1), pages 15-30.
    14. Lennart Sjöberg, 1998. "Worry and Risk Perception," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(1), pages 85-93, February.
    15. Jared LeClerc & Susan Joslyn, 2015. "The Cry Wolf Effect and Weather‐Related Decision Making," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 35(3), pages 385-395, March.
    16. repec:ers:journl:v:volumexxi:y:2018:i:issue4:p:304-316 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. B. J. M. Ale, 2005. "Tolerable or Acceptable: A Comparison of Risk Regulation in the United Kingdom and in the Netherlands," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(2), pages 231-241, April.
    18. Ruiz Martín, Antonio & Rodríguez Díaz, Manuel & Ruíz San Román, José Antonio, 2014. "Measure of the mining image," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 23-30.
    19. Mohammad Rashed Hasan Polas & Ratul Kumar Saha & Mosab I. Tabash, 2022. "How does tourist perception lead to tourist hesitation? Empirical evidence from Bangladesh," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 3659-3686, March.
    20. Vivianne H. M. Visschers & Ree M. Meertens & Wim F. Passchier & Nanne K. DeVries, 2007. "How Does the General Public Evaluate Risk Information? The Impact of Associations with Other Risks," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3), pages 715-727, June.
    21. Wang, Jessie J. & Lalwani, Ashok K. & DelVecchio, Devon, 2022. "The Impact of Power Distance Belief on Consumers' Brand Preferences," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 804-823.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:riskan:v:31:y:2011:i:3:p:450-465. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1539-6924 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.