Which measures of perceived vulnerability predict protective intentions-and when?

Area of Science:

• Health Psychology
• Risk Perception Research
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Assessing perceived vulnerability to health threats is crucial for understanding risk conceptualization and predicting protective behaviors.
• Limited consensus exists on which perceived vulnerability measures best predict behavior.
• The type of risk information individuals receive may influence the predictive accuracy of different vulnerability measures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test whether the predictive ability of different perceived vulnerability measures varies based on the type of risk information provided.
• To identify which measures of perceived vulnerability are most effective in predicting protective intentions across different information contexts.
• To broaden the generalizability of prior findings on perceived vulnerability and risk communication.

Main Methods:

• Online study with 909 participants assessing perceived vulnerability and vaccination intentions regarding a novel respiratory disease.
• Participants received different types of risk information: comparative-only, comparative plus base-rate, or comparative plus absolute risk estimates.
• Measured perceived vulnerability using experiential, affective, deliberative numeric, and comparative scales.

Main Results:

• Experiential and affective measures of perceived vulnerability consistently predicted protective intentions across all information conditions.
• Deliberative numeric and comparative measures' predictive ability varied depending on whether participants received base-rate or absolute risk information.
• The type of risk information significantly moderated the predictive power of certain perceived vulnerability measures.

Conclusions:

• Experiential and affective measures offer robust prediction of protective intentions regardless of risk information format.
• The effectiveness of deliberative numeric and comparative measures is contingent on the specific type of risk information presented.
• Findings highlight the importance of considering information context when selecting measures for assessing perceived vulnerability and guiding health protective behaviors.