Accuracy and Defense Motives: Exploring Types of Information Insufficiency in the Risk Information Seeking and Processing (RISP) Model
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
Publisher
SAGE
Source Publication
Science Communication
Source ISSN
1075-5470
Original Item ID
DOI: 10.1177/10755470261465788
Abstract
This study reconceptualizes information insufficiency as a goal-contingent construct within the Risk Information Seeking and Processing model. In multifaceted risk contexts, individuals confront health threats alongside challenges to deep-seated values and beliefs, producing different judgmental demands within a single risk event. Survey data from 858 Hong Kong adults show two distinct forms of information insufficiency, one oriented toward accurate safety judgments and another toward defending deep-seated values and beliefs. Each form is associated with distinct patterns of information seeking and processing. This study demonstrates how multiple goal-based information insufficiencies operate within the same individual in response to different judgmental demands.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Fung, Timothy K.F.; Leung, Ho Man; Lai, Po Yan; and Griffin, Robert J., "Accuracy and Defense Motives: Exploring Types of Information Insufficiency in the Risk Information Seeking and Processing (RISP) Model" (2026). College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications. 722.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/comm_fac/722
Comments
Science Communication, 2026. Online before print. DOI.