Reclaiming a Communication Focus in

Risk Communication

Presentation by Jason S. Wrench

Union Carbide Plant in Bhopal, India

2,000 Died Instantly

20,000 Died in the First Week

200,000+ were injured

Three Phases of Risk Communication

Phase I (1975-1984) – Risk Assessment Model

Phase II (1985-1994) – Risk Management Model

Phase III (1994-Present Day)– Risk Communication Model

Basic Terminology

Hazard: Anything that can cause morbidity (injury) or mortality (death).

Risk: The probability of morbidity (loss of limb or injury) or mortality (loss of life) associated with a specific hazard.

Risk CommunicationThe process by which an individual or group of individuals (risk communicator[s]) stimulates meaning in the minds of another individual or group individuals (receiver[s]) about the morbidity and mortality associated with a specific hazard by means of verbal, nonverbal, and mediated messages.

Wrench (2004) “Development and Validity Testing of the Risk Communicator Style

Scale” Communication Variables Democratic. Technical

Nonverbal Immediacy +Communicator Clarity +Receiver Apprehension - +Interaction Satisfaction Cognitive + Affective + - Behavioral +Source Credibility Competence + + Trustworthiness + Caring/Goodwill +

Four Types of Risk Communicators

- Technical + Technical

- Democratic Risk Avoiders Risk Assessors

+ Democratic Risk Feelers Risk Educators

Wrench (2007) “The Influence of Perceived Risk Knowledge on Risk Communication”

Communication Variables RiskKnowledge

Nonverbal Immediacy +Communicator Clarity +Receiver Apprehension -Interaction Satisfaction Cognitive + Affective + Behavioral +Source Credibility Competence + Trustworthiness + Caring/Goodwill +

Wrench, Fiore, & Charbonnette “The Impact of Crisis Communication on

Levels of Acute-Traumatic Stress Disorder As a Result of the September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks on the United States”

Variate #1 Variate #2

Receiver Apprehension

-.96 .29

Crisis Knowledge .58 .82Avoidance -.91 .19Intrusion -.41 .82Hyperarousal -.76 .28Canonical

Correlation .50 .20

Impact of Receiver Characteristics

Communication Variables Democratic Technical RiskKnowledge

BeliefAboutHarm

Receiver Characteristics Human Temperament Extraversion Neuroticism + Psychoticism + +Locus of Control + +

ContinuedCommunication Variables Democratic Technical Risk

Knowledge

Belief About Harm

Sociocommunicative Orientation

Assertiveness Responsiveness +Receiver Apprehension - + -Receiver Perceptions Democratic Risk

Communicator Style+ +

Technical Risk Communicator Style

-

Risk Knowledge -

Future Directions More research is needed on crisis communication in general. More receiver characteristics that could impact perceived Risk. I would like to experimentally test the effect of political

affiliation on people’s perceptions of a source of risk communication.

Currently Risk and Crisis Communication is fairly a theoretical, which needs to change.