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Some Criteria for Evaluating Risk Messages
Author(s) -
Weinstein Neil D.,
Sandman Peter M.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
risk analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.972
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1539-6924
pISSN - 0272-4332
DOI - 10.1111/j.1539-6924.1993.tb00733.x
Subject(s) - hazard , consistency (knowledge bases) , comprehension , risk communication , risk assessment , variety (cybernetics) , hazard analysis , action (physics) , psychology , risk perception , test (biology) , risk analysis (engineering) , computer science , computer security , engineering , medicine , perception , reliability engineering , chemistry , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , neuroscience , programming language , paleontology , biology
Seven criteria are presented for use in evaluating communications designed to explain the magnitude of a risk. The criteria are: (1) comprehension (Does the audience understand the content of the communication?); (2) agreement (Does the audience agree with the recommendation or interpretation contained in the message?); (3) dose‐response consistency (Do people facing a higher dose of a hazard perceive the risk as greater and/or show a greater readiness to take action than people exposed to a lower dose of this hazard?); (4) hazard‐response consistency (Do people facing a hazard that is higher in risk perceive the risk as greater and/or show a greater readiness to take action than people exposed to a hazard that is lower in risk?); (5) uniformity (Do audience members exposed to the same level of risk tend to have the same responses to this risk?); (6) audience evaluation (Does the audience judge the message to have been helpful, accurate, clear, etc.?); and (7) types of communication failures (When different types of failures are possible, are the failures that occur generally of the more acceptable variety?). Each of these criteria is illustrated with data collected in a test of message formats designed to explain the risk presented by radon gas in a home.