Vivifying Outbreaks
Investigating the Influence of a Forecast Visual on Risk Perceptions, Time-Urgency, and Behavioral Intentions
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21617293 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rachel A Smith (0000-0003-0392-3735, Pennsylvania State University, corresponding author), Youzhen Su (0000-0002-5299-9712, Pennsylvania State University), Katie Yan (0000-0002-8381-504X, Pennsylvania State University), Katriona Shea (0000-0002-7607-8248, Pennsylvania State University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 1289-1299 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-07 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Health Communication (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1041-0236 • E-ISSN: 1532-7027 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10410236.2024.2395721 |
| PMID | 39189764 |
| OpenAlex | W4401913281 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 46 |
Although visual depictions of epidemiological data are not new in public health, the US public saw more of them during the COVID-19 pandemic than ever before. In this study, we considered visualizations of forecasts (i.e. predictions of how a disaster will unfold over time) formatted as line charts. We investigated how two choices scientists make when creating a forecast visual – the outcome of focus (cases or deaths) and the amount of data provided (more or less data) about the past or the potential future – shape behavioral intentions via risk-related appraisals (e.g. threat and efficacy). In an online experiment, participants (N = 236) viewed a written health alert about a novel airborne virus, with one of the eight versions of a forecast visual or no visual (text only). The results of the experiment showed that exposing people to a health alert with a forecast visual in it may be less effective than anticipated. Reading a written health alert with a forecast visual was, at best, equal to outcomes from reading an alert without it, and sometimes it performed worse: participants appraised the novel virus as a less urgent threat and the recommended solutions as less efficacious. Implications of the findings for theories of risk and visual health communication and practical considerations for future health communicators were discussed
Disease · Pandemic · Perception · Public health · Risk perception · Applied Psychology · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Media Influence and Health · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology
Introduction to Statistical Mediation Analysis
Construal Levels and Psychological Distance
Visualizing Uncertainty About the Future
Construal-level theory of psychological distance.
Self-Efficacy
Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis
Advancing Visual Health Communication Research to Improve Infodemic Response
Embodying Temporality in Response Efficacy
Risk Comprehension and Judgments of Statistical Evidentiary Appeals
The Relative Trustworthiness of Inferential Tests of the Indirect Effect in Statistical Mediation Analysis
A Protection Motivation Theory of Fear Appeals and Attitude Change1
Perceived Risk and Efficacy Beliefs as Motivators of Change
Innovations in Sampling
Efficacy constructs in media use and effects
How risk decision-makers interpret and use flood forecast information
Using Theory to Design Effective Health Behavior Interventions
The nomological and predictive validity of time urgency
Putting the fear back into fear appeals
The procrastination of everyday life
Protection motivation and self-efficacy
The effects of involvement on responses to argument quantity and quality
The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research
A National Survey Assessing Sars-CoV-2 Vaccination Intentions
The role of feasibility and desirability considerations in near and distant future decisions
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |