Risk communication: The roles of message appeal and coping style

We examined the main effect of message appeal (emotional and logical) and coping style (monitors and blunters) and the interaction effect between the two on risk message processing outcomes. Participants were 74 U.S. undergraduate and graduate students who read news stories about tornadoes, then rated their risk message processing outcomes. Results showed that emotional appeals led to a higher risk perception, probability of risk occurrence, and more accurate recognition memory than did logical appeals. Further, we found significant interaction effects between message appeal and coping style on risk perception. When message appeals were emotional, monitors perceived a higher risk and probability of risk occurrence than did blunters; however, when message appeals were logical, this difference between monitors and blunters disappeared. The findings suggest that (a) emotional appeals should be included in risk communication and (b) coping styles should be considered in effective risk communication.