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Reliability but not bias: Developing a scale to measure preferred channels for risk information during the COVID pandemic
Author(s) -
Lachlan Kenneth A.,
Gilbert Christine
Publication year - 2023
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/risa.14035
Subject(s) - reliability (semiconductor) , risk perception , biology and political orientation , perception , psychology , channel (broadcasting) , scale (ratio) , social psychology , pandemic , public opinion , covid-19 , applied psychology , computer science , statistics , politics , geography , medicine , mathematics , political science , pathology , power (physics) , quantum mechanics , physics , cartography , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , law , computer network , neuroscience
To develop a new measure of preferred sources for risk information, two studies asked respondents to indicate what channels they were reliant on for information about COVID‐19, from 25 news channels ranging across the political spectrum. Unexpectedly, dependencies clustered around level of reliability rather than the political orientation of the news channel. In other words, each cluster included media channels from both the left and right side of the political spectrum, while dependencies clustered into sources that varied by the degree to which their content is reliable. Participants who turned to lower reliability channels indicated lower risk perceptions, less accurate probability estimations, reduced vaccination intentions, and lower protective behavioral intentions. Those inclined to use higher reliability channels indicated higher risk perceptions, more accurate probability estimations, increased vaccination intentions, and higher protective behavioral intentions. These relationships are discussed in terms of implications for our understanding of source reliance and risk perception, information sufficiency, and implications for both future research and public health interventions.