Testing Links Among Uncertainty, Affect, and Attitude Toward a Health Behavior

Authors

Robert J. Griffin, Marquette UniversityFollow
Timothy K.F. Fung, Hong Kong Baptist University
Sharon Dunwoody, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2018

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Source Publication

Science Communication

Source ISSN

1075-5470

Original Item ID

DOI: 10.1177/1075547017748947

Abstract

This study examines the conceptual linkages between individuals’ uncertainty judgments and affective reactions (worry and anger) within the context of an environmental health risk. It uses data from a longitudinal study of people’s reactions to the risks of eating contaminated fish from the Great Lakes that employed the risk information seeking and processing model and incorporates a set of variables from the full model, which includes preventive behavior. Findings support the model and indicate that worry and anger strongly influenced uncertainty judgments but worry and anger influenced attitudes toward fish avoidance and information insufficiency differently.

Comments

Accepted version. Science Communication, Vol. 40, No. 1 (2018): 33-62. DOI. © 2018 SAGE Publications. Used with permission.

Recommended Citation

Griffin, Robert J.; Fung, Timothy K.F.; and Dunwoody, Sharon, "Testing Links Among Uncertainty, Affect, and Attitude Toward a Health Behavior" (2018). College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications. 602.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/comm_fac/602