Details
Original language | English |
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Journal | Journal of Biological Education |
Publication status | Accepted/In press - 2021 |
Abstract
Keywords
- Risk perception, risk literacy, uncertainty, intention, theory of planned behaviour, aluminium
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In: Journal of Biological Education, 2021.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Approaching the Risk Perception Gap: Effects of a Subject Matter Knowledge-Based Intervention in a Health Context
AU - Heuckmann, Benedikt
AU - Krüger, Finja
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - We conducted a short subject matter knowledge-based intervention in a quasi-experimental design and explored whether providing health-related subject matter knowledge affects university students’ risk perception and their behavioural intentions. We chose the everyday context of using antiperspirants that contain aluminium and focused on the presumption that antiperspirants facilitate Alzheimer’s disease development. This study was devoted to a risk perception gap caused by the epistemic and ontological uncertainty involved in the contextual background of using antiperspirants and developing Alzheimer’s disease. By computing repeated measures ANOVA, we found that imparting subject matter knowledge as system, action-related and effectiveness health knowledge increased students’ cognitive and affective risk perception. Path analyses revealed that cognitive and affective risk perception had an indirect, negative effect on behavioural intentions towards using antiperspirants. Attitudes and perceived behavioural control fully mediated the relationship between risk perception and intention. The mediation effect differed between students who received subject matter knowledge and students who did not. We discuss the findings from our study related to the role of subject matter knowledge for understanding risk perception, the ambiguity of overcoming and creating a risk perception gap when uncertainty holds and how risk perception relates to attitudes and behavioural intention.
AB - We conducted a short subject matter knowledge-based intervention in a quasi-experimental design and explored whether providing health-related subject matter knowledge affects university students’ risk perception and their behavioural intentions. We chose the everyday context of using antiperspirants that contain aluminium and focused on the presumption that antiperspirants facilitate Alzheimer’s disease development. This study was devoted to a risk perception gap caused by the epistemic and ontological uncertainty involved in the contextual background of using antiperspirants and developing Alzheimer’s disease. By computing repeated measures ANOVA, we found that imparting subject matter knowledge as system, action-related and effectiveness health knowledge increased students’ cognitive and affective risk perception. Path analyses revealed that cognitive and affective risk perception had an indirect, negative effect on behavioural intentions towards using antiperspirants. Attitudes and perceived behavioural control fully mediated the relationship between risk perception and intention. The mediation effect differed between students who received subject matter knowledge and students who did not. We discuss the findings from our study related to the role of subject matter knowledge for understanding risk perception, the ambiguity of overcoming and creating a risk perception gap when uncertainty holds and how risk perception relates to attitudes and behavioural intention.
KW - Risk perception
KW - risk literacy
KW - uncertainty
KW - intention
KW - theory of planned behaviour
KW - aluminium
M3 - Article
JO - Journal of Biological Education
JF - Journal of Biological Education
SN - 0021-9266
ER -