科研成果详情

This study predicts information seeking in the context of earthquake risk. Considering the influence of today's media environment, this study investigates individuals’ interpretation and use of risk information to explore the mechanisms of media effects for a better public-focused risk communication. Based on the social cognitive theory, a path model is developed to predict the intent to seek information relating to earthquakes. Data collected from a sample of 1032 Chinese have been used in model testing. Results of the analyses under the structural equation modeling framework supported the predictive power of the model. Then, after a modification of the original model, a communication model was suggested, which demonstrated better fit and explained larger proportion of the variance in intent to seek information. The communication model highlighted the importance of information availability: it significantly increased individuals’ subjective knowledge and risk perception about earthquakes; meanwhile, it also greatly raised the level of outcome expectation which directly determined the intent to seek information. Findings of this study provide a new perspective on the prediction of risk information seeking and contribute insights into communications of natural hazard risks.