After years of media coverage, can one more video report trigger heuristic judgments? A national study of American terrorism risk perceptions

Abstract

Terrorists seek to elevate the perceived risk of terrorism by exploiting common psychological reactions to threats that capture media attention. Two heuristics or ‘mental shortcuts’ have been proposed to account for the effects of media reports of terrorism on risk perceptions: one emphasizing cognitive factors, the Availability Heuristic, the other emphasizing emotional factors, the Affect Heuristic. This study examines these heuristics in a nationally representative sample of more than 2000 American adults, of which a randomly selected subset was shown a brief but graphic video report of the aftermath of a terrorist attack. Results provide partial support for the activation of both heuristic processes.