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Who is afraid of the Ebola outbreak? The influence of discrete emotions on risk perception

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  • Janet Z. Yang
  • Haoran Chu

Abstract

The appraisal tendency framework (ATF) suggests that discrete emotions mediate the relationship between cognitive appraisals and behaviors. Based on the ATF, this study analyzed and found that fear, anger, anxiety, disgust, and sadness were positively related to the US public’s risk perception about the Ebola outbreak. Fear was also found to inhibit the degree to which systematic processing of the relevant risk information influenced participants’ support for institutional mitigation measures such as sending more health professionals to help countries in West Africa deal with the Ebola outbreak. The result partially confirms the ATF and offers important practical implications in regard to the communication of emergent public health crises.

Suggested Citation

  • Janet Z. Yang & Haoran Chu, 2018. "Who is afraid of the Ebola outbreak? The influence of discrete emotions on risk perception," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(7), pages 834-853, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jriskr:v:21:y:2018:i:7:p:834-853
    DOI: 10.1080/13669877.2016.1247378
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    Cited by:

    1. Xiao Gu & Bojan Obrenovic & Wei Fu, 2023. "Empirical Study on Social Media Exposure and Fear as Drivers of Anxiety and Depression during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-18, March.
    2. Inger Schou-Bredal & Laila Skogstad & Tine K. Grimholt & Tore Bonsaksen & Øivind Ekeberg & Trond Heir, 2021. "Concerns in the Norwegian Population during the Initial Lockdown Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-9, June.
    3. Thomas Jamieson & Dakota Caldwell & Barbara Gomez-Aguinaga & Cristián Doña-Reveco, 2021. "Race, Ethnicity, Nativity and Perceptions of Health Risk during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the US," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-18, October.
    4. Huan Yang & Qingyun Zhao & Zhengkai Zhang & Wenxiao Jia, 2022. "Associations between Lifestyle Changes, Risk Perception and Anxiety during COVID-19 Lockdowns: A Case Study in Xi’an," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-13, October.
    5. Jian-Bin Li & An Yang & Kai Dou & Rebecca Y. M. Cheung, 2020. "Self-Control Moderates the Association Between Perceived Severity of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Mental Health Problems Among the Chinese Public," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-10, July.
    6. Diana Tsoy & Tanin Tirasawasdichai & Konstantin Ivanovich Kurpayanidi, 2021. "Role of Social Media in Shaping Public Risk Perception during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Theoretical Review," International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration, Inovatus Services Ltd., vol. 7(2), pages 35-41, January.
    7. Fei Teng & Xijing Wang & Jiaxin Shi & Zhansheng Chen & Qianying Huang & Wanrong Cheng, 2021. "Psychosomatic Symptoms and Neuroticism following COVID-19: The Role of Online Aggression toward a Stigmatized Group," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-16, August.
    8. Huiyun Zhu, 2022. "Interplay between Discrete Emotions and Preventive Behavior in Health Crises: Big Data Analysis of COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-15, December.
    9. Yuanchao Gong & Linxiu Zhang & Yan Sun, 2021. "More than just a mental stressor: psychological value of social distancing in COVID-19 mitigation through increased risk perception—a preliminary study in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-6, December.
    10. Bharat Barik, 2024. "Health Shocks, Risk Aversion, and Consumption Choices: Evidence from Household Intoxicant Spending in India During COVID-19," IIMA Working Papers WP 2024-01-02, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.
    11. Hao Xu & Smitha Muthya Sudheendra & Jisu Huh & Aadesh Salecha & Jaideep Srivastava, 2024. "Influence of emotions on coping behaviors in crisis: a computational analysis of the COVID-19 outbreak," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 1599-1623, October.
    12. Jinghong Xu & Difan Guo & Jing Xu & Chang Luo, 2023. "How Do Multiple Actors Conduct Science Communication About Omicron on Weibo: A Mixed-Method Study," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(1), pages 306-322.

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