Risk Amplification From an Intercultural Perspective

• In Event: Risk Communication and Perception

Abstract

Kasperson and his associates (1988) proposed risk amplification theory and provided insights about how the information gap forms because of risk amplification effects. Media framing was also introduced into risk communication literature in order to understand how public perception of risk varies under different media frames. In this study, the effects of individualism- collectivism cultural orientation on risk perception and attribution of responsibility are examined in the light of risk amplification theory and media framing theory. The findings of the experiment suggest that cultural orientation has effects on perception of risks and certain risks are amplified in the interaction of media framing and cultural orientation.

Author

• Sifan Xu, University of Maryland College Park