Generating Effective Risk Messages: How Scary Should Your Risk Communication Be?

No consensus exists on how to develop effective risk messages that motivate appropriate action yet do not unduly frighten people. A useful framework for developing risk messages is the extended parallel process model (EPPM). The EPPM suggests that when people are faced with health or environmental risks, they are motivated to either control the danger or control their fear. This chapter offers a description of how the EPPM can explain public responses to risk messages, and then reports on two pilot studies that illustrate how existing audience perceptions can be used in the design and generation of effective risk management messages.