Poortvliet P Marijn, Lokhorst Anne Marike
Chairgroup Strategic Communication, Subdepartment Communication, Philosophy, and Technology, Centre for Integrative Development, Wageningen University, 6700, EW, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Risk Anal. 2016 Aug;36(8):1615-29. doi: 10.1111/risa.12543. Epub 2016 Feb 5.
The results of a survey and an experiment show that experiential uncertainty-people's experience of uncertainty in risk contexts-plays a moderating role in individuals' risk-related demand for government regulation and trust in risk-managing government institutions. First, descriptions of risks were presented to respondents in a survey (N = 1,017) and their reactions to questions about experiential uncertainty, risk perception, and demand for government regulation were measured, as well as levels of risk-specific knowledge. When experiential uncertainty was high, risk perceptions had a positive relationship with demand for government regulation of risk; no such relationship showed under low experiential uncertainty. Conversely, when people experience little experiential uncertainty, having more knowledge about the risk topic involved was associated with a weaker demand for government regulation of risk. For people experiencing uncertainty, this relationship between knowledge and demand for regulation did not emerge. Second, in an experiment (N = 120), experiential uncertainty and openness in risk communication were manipulated to investigate effects on trust. In the uncertainty condition, the results showed that open versus nonopen government communication about Q-fever-a zoonosis-led to higher levels of trust in the government agency, but not in in the control condition. Altogether, this research suggests that only when people experience relatively little uncertainty about the risk, knowledge provision may preclude them from demanding government action. Also, only when persons experience uncertainty are stronger risk perceptions associated with a demand for government regulation, and they are affected by openness of risk communication in forming institutional trust.
一项调查和一项实验的结果表明，经验性不确定性（即人们在风险情境中的不确定性体验）在个体对政府监管的风险相关需求以及对风险管理政府机构的信任方面发挥着调节作用。首先，在一项调查中（N = 1017）向受访者呈现风险描述，并测量他们对有关经验性不确定性、风险认知以及政府监管需求问题的反应，以及特定风险知识水平。当经验性不确定性较高时，风险认知与对风险的政府监管需求呈正相关；在低经验性不确定性情况下则不存在这种关系。相反，当人们几乎没有经验性不确定性体验时，对所涉及风险主题有更多了解与对风险的政府监管需求较弱相关。对于经历不确定性的人来说，知识与监管需求之间的这种关系并未出现。其次，在一项实验中（N = 120），对经验性不确定性和风险沟通的开放性进行了操控，以研究其对信任的影响。在不确定性条件下，结果表明，政府关于Q热（一种人畜共患病）的公开与非公开沟通导致对政府机构的信任水平更高，但在对照条件下并非如此。总体而言，这项研究表明，只有当人们对风险的不确定性相对较小时，提供知识才可能使他们不再要求政府采取行动。此外也只有当人们经历不确定性时，更强的风险认知才与对政府监管的需求相关，并且他们在形成机构信任时会受到风险沟通开放性的影响。
