The Effects of Absolute versus Relative Risk Presentation Format, Source Credibility, and Numeracy on Risk Perceptions and Behavioral Intentions

??? ????????? ????????? ??????(????????? ??????)?????? ?????? ??????(????????? ??????)??? ????????? ??? ????????? ????????? ??? ??? ????????????, ????????? ????????? ????????? ??? ?????? ????????? ????????? ??? ????????? ????????? ????????????(Gerd Gigerenzer)??? ????????? ????????? ???????????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????????? ????????? ?????? ??????(????????? ??? ????????? ??????)??? ?????? ??????(?????????/?????????)??? ?????? ??????(?????? ??????/?????? ?????? ?????? ??????)??? ????????? ????????? ??????????????? ??????. ?????? ??????????????????????????? ???????????? ????????? ???????????? ?????????, ????????? ????????? ?????? ????????? ???????????? ????????? ?????? ?????????(numeracy)??? ???????????? ???????????? ????????? ?????? ??????????????? ?????????. ???????????? ????????? 2??? ????????? ????????? 275 ?????? ???????????? 2 ?????? ?????? ?????? (????????? ??? ?????????) x 2 ????????? ????????? (???/???) x 2 ?????? ????????? (???/???) ????????? ??? ????????? ????????? ???????????????. ???????????? ?????? ?????? (1) ????????? ?????? ????????? (a) ????????? ????????? ????????? ???????????? ??????, (b) ??? ????????? * ????????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????, (c) ??? ?????? ????????? * ????????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????????????? ?????????, (2) ?????? ?????? ?????? ????????? (a) ????????? ???????????? ?????? ??????, (b) ??? ????????? * ????????? ?????? ?????? ????????????, (c) ?????? ???????????? ?????? ???????????? ??? ?????????. ?????? ????????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????????? ????????? ?????? ?????? ????????????, ?????? ????????? ?????? ?????? ?????????????????? ????????? ????????? ????????? ???????????? ?????? ?????? ????????? ????????? ?????????????????? ??????????????? ?????????. Communicators may present risks as either absolute or relative. The choice of these risk presentation formats, according to Gerd Gigerenzer, determines people’s risk perception and reactions. This study examined the effect of risk presentation format (absolute vs. relative numeric value) on the public’s risk perceptions (personal- and societal-level) and on their behavioral intentions (preventive action, willingness to comply to the government’ recommendations). It also tested the main and interaction effects of source credibility and numeracy on the dependent variables, along with the risk presentation format. An experiment was conducted with a 2 risk presentation format x 2 source credibility (high vs. low) x 2 numeracy (high vs. low) between-subjects design among 275 college students from two universities. The tests of three-way Analysis of Variance showed the following results: (1) Societal-level risk perception was higher in (a) relative risk presentation format condition, (b) relative risk presentation format x low credibility condition, (c) relative risk presentation format x low numeracy condition; (2) Willingness to comply to the government’ recommendations was higher in (a) high credibility condition, (b) absolute risk presentation format x high credibility condition, (c) high numeracy condition. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research. This study advances theoretical arguments in the risk communication field and offers practical implications for effective risk communication strategies and media and risk literacy training