Insights into the reception and acceptance of risk messages

Nuclear emergency communication

Bibliographic Data

ID12598633
AuthorsTanja Perko (0000-0001-8405-6631, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, corresponding author), Peter Thijssen (0000-0002-1202-8452, University of Antwerp), Catrinel Turcanu (0000-0003-0707-0581, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre), B Van Gorp (0000-0003-2937-0665, KU Leuven)
Year2014
Volume17
Issue9
Pages1207-1232
Publication date2014-01-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Risk Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1366-9877 • E-ISSN: 1466-4461
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13669877.2013.875933
OpenAlexW2045486997
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited45

The objective of this paper is to test whether the effect of variables such as knowledge, attitudes, trust, risk perception, and psychometric risk characteristics changes in the different stages of risk-related information processing. To address this question, a distinction is made between two information-processing steps, reception (measured as a person’s ability to retain the information communicated) and acceptance (measured as a person’s level of agreement with the communicated information). An empirical study was conducted, using a radiological accident (2008) in Belgium as a communication case study. Face-to-face interviews were conducted on a large sample of Belgian population representative with respect to province, region, level of urbanization, gender, age, and professionally active status (N = 1031) and among the population living in vicinity of the accident (N = 104). All factors were measured on reliable scales (Cronbach’s α > .75). The reception–acceptance model was used to produce new insights into risk communication. The results demonstrate that knowledge was the driving factor only for the reception of risk messages, while heuristic predictors such as psychometric risk characteristics, attitudes, and trust were most influential for the acceptance of risk messages. It is discussed how the results will facilitate a more thorough understanding of information processing and how they could be used to design more focused risk communication strategies

Cronbach's alpha · Developmental psychology · Environmental health · Perception · Population · Psychometrics · Risk analysis (engineering · Risk communication · Risk perception · Sample (material · Test (biology · Applied Psychology · Disaster Management and Resilience · Medicine · Psychology · Public Relations and Crisis Communication · Risk Perception and Management · Social Psychology