Communication Studies 394-0: Undergraduate Research
Seminar
Section 20: Persuasion in Health Contexts
Fall 2009
READINGS FOR 14 OCTOBER
OUTLINE
4. Risk perception and risk communication
4.1 Risk appraisal/perception
4.2 The relationship of risk perception and behavior
4.3 Interventions to alter risk perceptions
4.4 Risk communication: Some loose ends
4.1 Risk appraisal/perception
Rothman, A. J., Klein, W. M., & Weinstein, N. D. (1996). Absolute and relative biases in estimations of personal risk. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 26, 1213-1236. [available here]
Helweg-Larsen, M., & Shepperd, J. A. (2001). Do moderators of the optimistic bias affect personal or target risk estimates? A review of the literature. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5, 74-95. [available online via NU]
Lundborg, P., & Lindgren, B. (2004). Do they know what they are doing? Risk perceptions and smoking behaviour among Swedish teenagers. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 28, 261-286. [available online via NU, but N.B.: volume 28]
For further reading:
Croyle, R. T. (1992). Appraisal of health threats: Cognition, motivations, and social comparison. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 16, 165-182.
Guerin, B. (1994). What do people think about the risks of driving? Implications for traffic safety interventions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24, 994-1021.
Kasperson, R. E., & Kasperson,
J. X. (1996). The social amplification and attenuation of risk. Annals of
the
Stapel, D. A., Reicher, S. D., & Spears, R. (1994). Social identity, availability and the perception of risk. Social Cognition, 12, 1-17.
Clarke, V. A., Lovegrove, H., Williams, A., & Machperson, M. (2000). Unrealistic optimism and the health belief model. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 23, 367-376.
Kropp, R. Y., & Halpern-Felsher, B. L. (2004). Adolescents’ beliefs about the risks involved in smoking “light” cigarettes. Pediatrics, 114, e445-e451.
Dillard, A. J., McCaul, K. D., & Klein, W. M. P. (2006). Unrealistic optimism in smokers: Implications for smoking myth endorsement and self-protective motivation. Journal of Health Communication, 11(Suppl. 1), 93-102.
Hevey, D., French, D. P. Marteau, T. M., & Sutton, S. (2009). Assessing unrealistic optimism: Impact of different approaches to measuring susceptibility to diabetes. Journal of Health Psychology, 14, 372-377.
4.2 The relationship of risk perception and behavior
Eiser, J. R., & Cole, N. (2002). Participation in cervical screening as a function of perceived risk, barriers and need for cognitive closure. Journal of Health Psychology, 7, 99-105. [available online via NU]
McCaul, K. D., Branstetter, A. D., Schroeder, D. M., & Glasgow, R. E. (1996). What is the relationship between breast cancer risk and mammography screening? A meta-analytic review. Health Psychology, 15, 423-429. [available online via NU]
Weinstein, N. D., & Nicolich, M. M. (1993). Correct and incorrect interpretations of correlations between risk perceptions and risk behaviors. Health Psychology, 12, 235-245. [available online via NU]
For further reading:
van der Pligt, J. (1998). Perceived risk and vulnerability as predictors of precautionary behaviour. British Journal of Health Psychology, 3, 1-14.
Brewer, N. T., Chapman, G. B., Gibbons, F. X., Gerrard, M., McCaul, K. D., & Weinstein, N. D. (2007). Meta-analysis of the relationship between risk perception and health behavior: The example of vaccination. Health Psychology, 26, 136-145.
Brewer, N. T., Weinstein, N. D., Cuite, C. L., & Herrington, J. E. (2004). Risk perceptions and their relation to risk behavior. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 27, 125-130.
Stasson, M., & Fishbein, M. (1990). The relation between perceived risk and preventive action: A within-subject analysis of perceived driving risk and intentions to wear seatbelts. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 20, 1541-1557.
Gerrard, M., Gibbons, F. X., Warner, T. D., & Smith, G.
E. (1993). Perceived vulnerability to HIV infection and AIDS preventive
behavior: A critical review of the evidence. In J. B. Pryor & G. D. Reeder
(Eds.), The social psychology of HIV infection (pp. 59-84).
Bengel, J., Belz-Merk, M., & Farin, E. (1996). The role of risk perception and efficacy cognitions in the prediction of HIV-related preventive behavior and condom use. Psychology and Health, 11, 505-525.
Gerrard, M., Gibbons, F. X., & Bushman, B. J. (1996). Relation between perceived vulnerability to HIV and precautionary sexual behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 390-409.
Diefenbach, M. A., Miller, S. M., & Daly, M. B. (1999). Specific worry about breast cancer predicts mammography use in women at risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Health Psychology, 18, 532-536.
Brewer, N. T., Weinstein, N. D., Cuite, C. L., & Herrington, J. E. (2004). Risk perceptions and their relation to risk behavior. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 27, 125-130.
4.3 Interventions to alter risk perceptions
Weinstein, N. D., & Klein, W. M. (1995). Resistance of personal risk perceptions to debiasing interventions. Health Psychology, 14, 132-140. [available online via NU] Kreuter, M. W., & Strecher, V. J. (1995). Changing inaccurate perceptions of health risk: Results from a randomized trial. Health Psychology, 14, 56-63. [available online via NU] Menon, G., Block, L. G., & Ramanathan, S. (2002). We’re at as much risk as we are led to believe: Effects of message cues on judgments of health risk. Journal of Consumer Research, 28, 533-549. [available online via NU]
For further reading:
Weinstein, N. D. (1983). Reducing unrealistic optimism about illness susceptibility. Health Psychology, 2, 11-20.
Weinstein, N. D., Grubb, P. D., & Vautier, J. S. (1986). Increasing automobile seat belt use: An intervention emphasizing risk susceptibility. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 285-290.
Smith, V. K., Desvousges, W. H., Johnson, F. R., & Fisher, A. (1990). Can public information programs affect risk perceptions? Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 9, 41-59.
Gerrard, M., Gibbons, F. X., & Warner, T. D. (1991). Effects of reviewing risk-relevant behavior on perceived vulnerability among women Marines. Health Psychology, 10, 173-179.
Kalichman, S. C., Kelly, J. A., Hunter, T. L., Murphy, D. A., & Tyler, R. (1993). Culturally tailored HIV-AIDS risk-reduction messages targeted to African-American urban women: Impact on risk sensitization and risk reduction. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61, 291-295.
Johnson, B. B., & Slovic, P. (1995). Presenting uncertainty in health risk assessment: Initial studies of its effects on risk perception and trust. Risk Analysis, 15, 485-494.
DePalma, M. T., McCall, M., & English, G. (1996).
Increasing perceptions of disease vulnerability through imagery. Journal of
Rothman, A. J., Kelly, K. M., Weinstein, N. D., & O’Leary, A. (1999). Increasing the salience of risky sexual behavior: Promoting interest in HIV-antibody testing among heterosexually active young adults. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29, 531-551.
McBride, C.
M., Halabi, S., Bepler, G.,
Lyna, P., McIntyre, L., Lipkus,
Thompson, S. C., Kyle, D., Swan, J., Thomas, C., & Vrungos, S. (2002). Increasing condom use by undermining perceived invulnerability to HIV. AIDS Education and Prevention, 14, 505-514.
Weinstein, N. D., Atwood, K., Puleo, E., Fletcher, R., Colditz,
G., & Emmons, K. M. (2004). Colon cancer: Risk perceptions and risk
communication. Journal of Health
Communication, 9, 53-65.
Emmons, K. M., Wong, M., Puleo, E., Weinstein, N., Fletcher, R., & Colditz, G. (2004). Tailored computer-based cancer risk communication: Correcting colorectal cancer risk perception. Journal of Health Communication, 9, 127-142.
Dillard, A. J., McCaul, K.D., Kelso, P. D., & Klein, W. M. P. (2006). Resisting good news: Reactions to breast cancer risk communication. Health Communication, 19, 115-123.
Robb, K. A., Campbell, J., Evans, P., Miles, A., & Wardle J. (2008). Impact of risk information on perceived colorectal cancer risk: A randomized trial. Journal of Health Psychology, 13, 744-753.
4.4 Risk communication: some loose ends
4.4.1 Alternative expressions of risk
For further reading:
Stone, E. R., Yates, J. F., & Parker, A. M. (1994). Risk communication: Absolute versus relative expressions of low-probability risks. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 60, 387-408.
Lipkus,
Moxey, L. M., & Sanford, A. J. (2000). Communicating quantities: A review of psycholinguistic evidence of how expressions determine perspectives. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 14, 237-255.
Welkenhuysen, M., Evers-Kiebooms, G., & d’Ydewalle, G. (2001). The language of uncertainty in genetic risk communication: Framing and verbal versus numerical information. Patient Education and Counseling, 43, 179-187.
Brase, G. L. (2002). Which statistical formats facilitate what decisions? The perception and influence of different statistical information formats. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 15, 381-401.
Gigerenzer, G. (2002). Reckoning with risk: Learning to live with uncertainty. London, UK: Penguin Press. [see esp. pp. 39-86: chapter 4 (“Insight”) and chapter 5 (“Breast cancer screening”)]
4.4.2 Miscellaneous and general risk communication items
For further reading:
McCallum, D. B., Hammond, S. L., & Covello, V. T. (1991). Communicating about environmental risks: How the public uses and perceives information sources. Health Education Quarterly, 18, 349-361. [journal is now titled Health Education and Behavior]
Coleman, C.-L. (1993). The influence of mass media and interpersonal communication on societal and personal risk judgments. Communication Research, 20, 611-628.
Wiegman, O., & Gutteling, J.
M. (1995). Risk appraisal and risk communication: Some empirical data from the
Rowan, K. E. (1995). What risk communicators need to know: An agenda for research. Communication Yearbook, 18, 300-319.
Leiss, W. (1996). Three phases in the evolution of risk
communication practice. Annals of the
Connelly, N. A., & Knuth, B. A. (1998). Evaluating risk communication: Examining target audience perceptions about four presentation formats for fish consumption health advisory information. Risk Analysis, 18, 649-659.
Menon, G., Raghubir, P., & Agrawal, N. (2008). Health risk perceptions and consumer psychology. In C. P. Haugtvedt, P. M. Herr, & F. R. Kardes (Eds.), Handbook of consumer psychology (pp. 981-1010). New York: Lawrence Erlbaum.