2026-09-20T03:42:59Zhttps://ecommons.cornell.edu/server/oai/requestoai:ecommons.cornell.edu:1813/22862026-05-14T13:52:32Zcom_1813_35col_1813_47
Issar, Sukriti
2005-10-28T18:38:32Z
2005-10-28T18:38:32Z
2005-10-28T18:38:32Z
https://hdl.handle.net/1813/2286
6476041
This study looks at the effects of manipulating the ambiguity of health risk messages on worry and perceived susceptibility. In view of literature that indicates robust emotion-congruent effects of anxiety on the interpretation of ambiguous information, a procedure was used to manipulate levels of state-anxiety for a treatment group.
Fifty-two participants completed an experimental task involving the reading of six health risk messages on different topics. Each message was followed by a short questionnaire to assess levels of worry, risk perception and attributional confidence. In addition, the participant?s familiarity with the message as well as his/her risk profile for the particular health risk in the message was assessed to provide context for their response to the messages. The experiment followed a 2 (within-group variables, ambiguous vs. unambiguous) x 2 design (between-group variables, state-anxiety induction vs. control group).
It was hypothesized that anxious readers would report higher worry than non-anxious readers, and that worry would be higher for disambiguated messages. Results indicated partial support. A significant interaction effect was found between state-anxiety induction and ambiguity, such that high state-anxious readers reported higher worry than non-anxious readers, for unambiguous messages only.
It was also hypothesized that risk profile information would predict worry. This hypothesis was supported.
154973 bytes
application/pdf
en
ambiguity
anxiety
worry
health risk messages
AMBIGUITY AND ANXIETY IN THE PROCESSING OF HEALTH RISK MESSAGES
dissertation or thesis
application/pdf
Publication
Cornell Theses and Dissertations
Issar, Sukriti
5893a6ea-7af3-41d7-abc6-04bcd26ab5df
open.access
open.access
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<Abstract>This study looks at the effects of manipulating the ambiguity of health risk messages on worry and perceived susceptibility. In view of literature that indicates robust emotion-congruent effects of anxiety on the interpretation of ambiguous information, a procedure was used to manipulate levels of state-anxiety for a treatment group.
Fifty-two participants completed an experimental task involving the reading of six health risk messages on different topics. Each message was followed by a short questionnaire to assess levels of worry, risk perception and attributional confidence. In addition, the participant?s familiarity with the message as well as his/her risk profile for the particular health risk in the message was assessed to provide context for their response to the messages. The experiment followed a 2 (within-group variables, ambiguous vs. unambiguous) x 2 design (between-group variables, state-anxiety induction vs. control group).
It was hypothesized that anxious readers would report higher worry than non-anxious readers, and that worry would be higher for disambiguated messages. Results indicated partial support. A significant interaction effect was found between state-anxiety induction and ambiguity, such that high state-anxious readers reported higher worry than non-anxious readers, for unambiguous messages only.
It was also hypothesized that risk profile information would predict worry. This hypothesis was supported.</Abstract>
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