Experience or Perception: Exemplification and Risk Messages

• In Event: Advances in the Study of Risk and Crisis Communication

Abstract

Exemplification theory (Zillmann 1999, 2002) asserts that message components that are iconic and emotionally arousing are easily accessed and therefore relied upon when making subsequent behavioral decisions. A reanalysis of data from three previous studies suggests that these processes work differently for men and women, and that women may be more inclined to modify behavioral intentions following exposure to risk messages that contain exemplars. The findings are discussed in terms of directions for future research and implications for risk communication practitioners.

Authors

• Patric R. Spence, U of Kentucky

• Kenneth Alan Lachlan, University of Connecticut

• David Keith Westerman, North Dakota State U

• Xialing Lin, University of Kentucky

• CJ Gentile, Western Michigan U

• Timothy Sellnow, U of Kentucky

• Stephen Spates, U of Tennessee