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The Greater Ability of Graphical Versus Numerical Displays to Increase Risk Avoidance Involves a Common Mechanism
Author(s) -
Schirillo James A.,
Stone Eric R.
Publication year - 2005
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.1539-6924.2005.00624.x
Subject(s) - harm , logarithm , reduction (mathematics) , mechanism (biology) , risk factor , risk management , variable (mathematics) , statistics , linear relationship , computer science , psychology , econometrics , social psychology , mathematics , medicine , pathology , mathematical analysis , philosophy , geometry , management , epistemology , economics
By displaying a risk reduction of 50% graphically rather than numerically, Stone, Yates, and Parker significantly increased professed risk‐avoidant behavior. The current experiments replicated this effect at various risk ratios. Specifically, participants were willing to spend more money to reduce a risk when the risk information was displayed by asterisks rather than by numbers for risk‐reduction ratios ranging from 3% to 97%. Transforming the amount participants were willing to spend to logarithms significantly improved a linear fit to the data, suggesting that participants convert this variable within the decision‐making process. Moreover, a log‐linear model affords an exceptional fit to both the graphical and numerical data, suggesting that a graphical presentation elicits the same decision‐making mechanism as does the numerical display. In addition, the data also suggest that each person removed from harm is weighted more by some additional factor in the graphical compared to the numerical presentations.