title: Personal and social comparison information about health risk: reaction to information and information search.
abstract: This study extended previous research on the impact of personal and social comparison information about health risk by asking respondents what other information they require. A total of 197 students responded to 1 of 12 vignettes describing hypothetical risks of developing pancreatic disease. These vignettes varied in terms of personal risk, comparison group risk and disease severity. Higher threat manipulations elicited higher ratings of negative affect, although perceived ambiguity moderated this effect. When information was more threatening, respondents requested more information, especially about controlling the disease threat. These results indicate the importance of providing unambiguous information, information about how to control a threat and information people want.
authors.affiliation: School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK. D.P.French.1@bham.ac.uk
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: French
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hevey
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sutton
authors.forename: Ann Louise
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Kinmonth
authors.forename: Theresa M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Marteau
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D033262:Narration; D010182:Pancreatic Diseases / Q000523:psychology; D012306:Risk; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012938:Social Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom