Refining the RISP Model for Moralized Risks: Integrating Environmental Values and Anticipated Guilt into...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Psychology
• Risk Communication
• Climate Change Behavior

Background:

• The Risk Information Seeking and Processing (RISP) model traditionally explains how individuals process risk information.
• Climate change is increasingly framed as a moralized risk, influenced by factors beyond factual information.
• Understanding public engagement requires integrating psychological and social factors into existing risk models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To refine the RISP model by incorporating the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) and anticipated guilt for climate change.
• To investigate the pathways influencing preventive behavioral intentions regarding climate change in a collectivist society.
• To identify psychological and normative factors that bridge the gap between climate knowledge and action.

Main Methods:

• Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed with a national sample of 1,500 South Korean adults.
• The study tested integrated pathways including the RISP model, NEP, and anticipated guilt.
• Data analysis focused on direct and indirect effects on climate-related behavioral intentions.

Main Results:

• Traditional RISP pathways were validated, alongside a significant parallel processing pathway.
• Anticipated guilt and perceived efficacy directly predicted preventive behavioral intentions, bypassing information seeking.
• The NEP influenced risk perception and efficacy; informational subjective norms mitigated knowledge gaps, suggesting a 'normative defense mechanism' in collectivist contexts.

Conclusions:

• Climate change communication should move beyond disseminating facts to engage moral identities and environmental worldviews.
• Anticipated guilt and efficacy are potent direct drivers of climate action.
• Tailoring communication strategies to cultural contexts, like collectivist societies, can enhance public engagement in sustainability.