Explaining Contradictory Relations Between Risk Perception and Risk Taking

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Different studies have documented opposite relations between perceived risk and behavior. The present study tested a theoretical explanation that reconciles these conflicting results. Adolescents (N = 596) completed alternative measures of risk perception that differed in cue specificity and response format. As predicted by fuzzy-trace theory, measures that emphasized verbatim retrieval and quantitative processing produced positive correlations between perceived risk and risky behavior; risk perceptions reflected the extent to which adolescents engaged in risky behavior. In contrast, measures that assessed global, gist-based judgments of risk produced negative correlations; higher risk perceptions were associated with less risk taking, a protective rather than reflective relation. Endorsement of simple values and principles provided the greatest protection against risk taking. Results support a dual-processes interpretation of the relation between risk perception and risk taking according to which observed relations depend on whether the cues in questions trigger verbatim or gist processing.

This publication has 14 references indexed in Scilit: