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Protection motivation and risk communication

Neuwirth1, Dunwoody, Griffin

  • 1Center for Environmental Communication Studies, Department of Communication, University of Cincinnati, OH 45221-0184, USA. Kurt.Neuwirth@uc.edu

Risk Analysis : an Official Publication of the Society for Risk Analysis
|December 8, 2000
PubMed
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Understanding hazard communication is key. This study shows that emphasizing a hazard's severity and preventive efficacy in media reports increases information seeking and willingness to act, supporting protection motivation theory (PMT).

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Communication Studies
  • Risk Perception

Background:

  • Mass media plays a crucial role in disseminating information about potential hazards.
  • Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) provides a framework for understanding how individuals respond to threats.
  • The effectiveness of PMT in the context of media-driven hazard communication requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the applicability of Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) to mass media hazard reporting.
  • To examine how variations in hazard severity, likelihood, and preventive efficacy influence audience responses.
  • To assess the impact of these elements on information seeking and behavioral intentions.

Main Methods:

  • An experiment was conducted with 206 participants exposed to a fabricated news story about fluorescent lighting affecting academic performance.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Key elements of the hazard (severity, likelihood, efficacy of prevention) were systematically manipulated within the news story.
  • Information seeking behavior and willingness to take preventive actions were measured.

    • Main Results:

    • Information detailing the severity of a hazard's consequences significantly increased participants' information seeking.
    • Combined information on risk levels, severity, and the efficacy of preventive measures led to higher willingness to adopt protective actions.
    • These findings offer empirical support for the principles of Protection Motivation Theory (PMT).

    Conclusions:

    • Mass media messages can effectively leverage hazard characteristics to promote public awareness and protective behaviors.
    • The study validates PMT's utility in explaining responses to mediated health and safety information.
    • Findings contribute to understanding information processing (heuristic and systematic) in response to risk communication.