Social Amplification Of Risk Research Articles

Environmental Values and the Social Amplification of Risk: An Examination of How Environmental Values and Media Use Influence Predispositions for Public Engagement in Wildlife Management Decision Making

As human interaction with wildlife increases due to population growth and development, wildlife managers and risk professionals have increasingly recognized the importance of citizen participation in risk management decision making. Employing a general population telephone survey of upstate New York residents and using a structural equation model analysis, this study examines the roles that environmental values and media use play in promoting public engagement in wildlife management and risk decision-making processes. Placing the examination within the social amplification of risk framework, this study finds that environmental values directly impact concern, health risk perceptions, and engagement in wildlife management processes. Media use also impacts citizen participation by amplifying risk perceptions and concern while directly increasing the likelihood that citizens will participate in decision-making processes. The study's implications for how the social amplification of risk framework can be used to analyze citizen participation and how risk practitioners may encourage citizen engagement are discussed.

The social amplification/attenuation of risk framework: application to climate change

AbstractThe social experience of risk is not confined to the technical definition of risk, that is, the product of probability and magnitude. What human beings perceive as threat to their well‐being and how they evaluate probabilities and magnitudes of unwanted consequences is codetermined by values, attitudes, social influences, and cultural identity. This article introduces the social amplification of risk framework (SARF) and applies it to climate change. The SARF is based on the thesis that events pertaining to hazards interact with psychological, social, institutional, and cultural processes in ways that can heighten or attenuate individual and social perceptions of risk and shape risk behavior. Drawing upon the concept of social amplification of risk, this article investigates the mechanisms of amplification and attenuation in the climate change debate: it focuses first on the micro‐sociological and psychological literature on amplification and attenuation of individual responses (including behavior) in relation to climate change; and second on the application of functional resonance and common pool concepts to the intensity of societal concern and action, interpreted in the light of the SARF. WIREs Clim Change 2011 2 154–169 DOI: 10.1002/wcc.99This article is categorized under: Perceptions, Behavior, and Communication of Climate Change > Social Amplification/Attenuation of Climate Risks

Interpersonal Amplification of Risk? Citizen Discussions and Their Impact on Perceptions of Risks and Benefits of a Biological Research Facility

Much risk communication research has demonstrated how mass media can influence individual risk perceptions, but lacks a comprehensive conceptual understanding of another key channel of communication: interpersonal discussion. Using the social amplification of risk as a theoretical framework, we consider the potential for discussions to function as amplification stations. We explore this possibility using data from a public opinion survey of residents living in potential locations for a new biological research facility in the United States. Controlling for a variety of key information variables, our results show that two dimensions of discussion-frequency and valence-have impacts on residents' perceptions of the facility's benefits and its risks. We also explore the possibility that an individual's overall attitude moderates the effect of discussion on their perceptions of risks and benefits. Our results demonstrate the potential for discussions to operate as amplifiers or attenuators of perceptions of both risks and benefits.

Behavioral Channels in the Cross-Market Diffusion of Major Terrorism Shocks

The diffusion mechanism of terrorist shocks to third countries' stock market responses is explored by employing a Heckit model. Stock market response is broken down to (i) the direction of reaction and (ii) conditional on negative reaction, its magnitude. The analysis puts forward two behavioral factors (memory-based utility/availability heuristic, social amplification of risk), proxied by past terrorism record and terrorism risk concern as the shocks' diffusion channels. The findings are that the likelihood and the size of negative stock market reaction increase with terrorism record and risk concern. Additionally, weak evidence is uncovered for a mitigation of risk concern's impact by favorable macroeconomic stance. Furthermore, the impact of behavioral factors, especially over the magnitude of reaction, is robust when controlling for economic linkages. The latter are also significant predictors of the direction of stock market reaction, but not of its magnitude.

Danger from above? A quantitative study of perceptions of hazards from falling rockets in the Altai region of Siberia

Russian rocket launch sites are inland, unlike their European and American equivalents. Those living near to fallout zones from the Baikonur cosmodrome have expressed concern about apparent high levels of psychological ill health, which they attribute to the launches, linking it to either fear of falling debris or contamination by fuel residues. The aim of the research study on which this article is based was to quantify and explain the reported ill health, relating it to exposure to, concern about, and information on the launches. Drawing on literature on social amplification of risk, a quantitative survey was conducted among 1111 adults living in three areas around the fallout area. Psychological symptoms were measured on the SCL-90 scale, with mental health assessed using the GHQ-20. Relationships were assessed using regression and path analysis. The main findings were that those people living closer to the fallout area were no more likely to have symptoms but were more concerned about launches. Prompted concern was associated with distress, assessed by SCL-90 scores (but not consistently with GHQ-20) and seemed to amplify the association between other adverse perceptions of life and symptoms. There is a high level of distress in this region but it is not obviously associated with exposure to launches. In contrast, the existing process of communicating information appears to increase concerns and thus distress.

Mass Media Effect on the Operating Environment of a Wildlife‐Related Risk‐Communication Campaign

ABSTRACT Managers and other stakeholders may rely on wildlife‐related risk communication campaigns to prevent or reduce risks associated with human‐wildlife conflict. The operating environment or the sphere of activity within which a campaign functions can influence a campaign's ability to achieve outcomes. Between 1 May 2005 and 30 October 2005, we studied human‐black bear conflict in southeastern New York and the wildlife‐related risk communication campaign, the New York NeighBEARhood Watch (NYNW). Based on the social amplification of risk framework, our goal was to determine whether mass media affected the operating environment of the campaign, and if so, identify the magnitude and direction of the effect. We used a self‐administered mail survey (N = 2,800) in 4 southeastern New York, USA, towns to collect data about residents’ perceived black bear‐related risks, bear‐related behavior, and exposure to the NYNW. We also conducted a content analysis of mass media coverage about black bears. Exposure to the NYNW from newspapers was positively correlated (R = 0.39, P < 0.01) with respondents’ decreased acceptance of black bear‐related risks. Our results showed a small social amplification of risk associated with black bears from exposure to mass media, specifically newspapers. Mass media can influence the operating environment of a wildlife‐related risk communication campaign, including through amplification of risk perception. Characterizing the operating environment of campaigns is key to HWC‐intervention planning, evaluation, and policy. Wildlife practitioners can consider media effects, as well as other biological and social factors, as potential influences on a campaign's operating environment and be aware that interaction effects may occur.

Socially Amplified Risk: Attitude and Behavior Change in Response to CWD in Wisconsin Deer

When chronic wasting disease (CWD) was discovered in the Wisconsin deer herd in early 2002 few people had attitudes about the disease, although they had strong attitudes toward deer and deer hunting. Because deer are important in Wisconsin, major newspapers published CWD stories at a rate of more than one a day for the last 10 months of 2002. Within weeks new attitudes were created along with behavioral intentions and documented changes in behavior. We use the Social Amplification of Risk framework to show how characteristics of the disease, scientific uncertainty, and fear arousing management actions amplified the risk. The media re-interpreted “normal” scientific and managerial uncertainty as problematic. We compare the social amplification of CWD risk with the relative lack of amplification of risk related to West Nile Virus and Episodic Hemorrhagic Disease. Our analysis, however, highlights just how difficult it is to change behaviors through attitude change. Further analysis of the effects of resulting hunter declines is recommended.

Public Perceptions of Florida Red Tide Risks

This research integrates theoretical frameworks of risk perception, social amplification of risk, and the role of place-specific contexts in order to explore the various perceptions surrounding Florida red tides. Florida red tides are naturally occurring events that are increasing in frequency, duration, and severity. This has implications for public health, the local economy, and ecosystem health. While many of the negative impacts of Florida red tides are not easily controlled, some of the secondary impacts may be mitigated through individuals' responses. However, public perception and consequent reactions to Florida red tides have not been investigated. This research uses questionnaire surveys, and semi-structured interviews, to explore the various perceptions of the risk surrounding red tides. Surveys and interviews were conducted along two Florida west coast beaches. The results indicate that the underlying foundations of the social amplification of the risk framework are applicable to understanding how individuals form perceptions of risk relative to red tide events. There are key differences between the spatial locations of individuals and corresponding perceptions, indicating that place-specific contexts are essential to understanding how individuals receive and interpret risk information. The results also suggest that individuals may be lacking efficient and up-to-date information about Florida red tides and their impacts because of inconsistent public outreach. Overall, social and spatial factors appear to be influential as to whether individuals amplify or attenuate the risks associated with Florida red tides.

The Impact of Social Amplification and Attenuation of Risk and the Public Reaction to Mad Cow Disease in Canada

Following the detection of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Canada, and subsequently in the United States, confidence in the safety of beef products remained high. Consumers actually increased their consumption of beef slightly after the news of an increased risk from mad cow disease, which has been interpreted as public support for beef farmers and confidence in government regulators. The Canadian public showed a markedly different reaction to the news of domestic BSE than the furious and panicked responses observed in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan. Using the social amplification of risk framework, we show that, while other countries displayed social amplification of risk, Canada experienced a social attenuation of risk. The attenuated reaction in Canada toward mad cow disease and increased human health risks from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) was due to the social context at the time when BSE was discovered domestically. Mortality, morbidity, and psychosocial impacts resulting from other major events such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), West Nile virus (WNV), and the U.S.-Iraq war made the theoretical risks of BSE and vCJD a lower priority, reducing its concern as a risk issue.

From the Editors

<i>From the Editors</i>

Is Objective Risk All That Matters When It Comes to Drugs?

Mokdad et al. (2004) estimate that each year in the United States, 435,000 people die from tobacco use, 85,000 from alcohol, and 17,000 from all illicit substances combined. Yet American public appears far more concerned about illegal drugs than it is about tobacco and alcohol use, driving expansions in control efforts far beyond that which is part and parcel of prohibition. The central thesis of this paper is that some of this mismatch in concern may stem from differences in the types of deaths created, with deaths associated with illicit drugs being, on average, “scarier” to the public than are the deaths associated with legal substances in a way that can be grounded in the risk perception and communication literatures. We summarize literature documenting that people care about more than actual death risk. Factors such as voluntariness, control, and familiarity also play a crucial role in determining the perceived risk of an event, and some of those factors seem to be more salient for the illicit drugs than for tobacco and alcohol. Social amplification of risk may also play a role in explaining these perceptions, but may not by itself be the full explanation. We conclude that the mismatch between actual risks and public concern is not necessarily entirely wrong or irrational, but rather may, to some extent, embody stable preferences that should be reflected in policy.

Interrupting the social amplification of risk process: a case study in collective emissions reduction

One of the main approaches we have for studying the progressive divergence of understandings around a risk issue is that of social risk amplification. This article describes a case study of a particular environmental contaminant, a chemical flame retardant that could be interpreted as having produced a risk amplifying process. It describes in particular how a group of industrial organizations acted collectively to reduce emissions of this contaminant, in an apparent attempt to avert regulation and boycotts—that is, to intercept the social amplification process and avoid its secondary effects. The aim of the study was to investigate the constitutive qualities of this collective action: the qualities that defined it and made it effective in the eyes of those involved. These include institutionalisation and independence, the ability to confer individual as well as collective benefit, the capacity to attract (rather than avoid) criticism, and the ‘branding’ that helps communicate what otherwise appear to be a set of unconnected, local actions. Although the risk amplification framework has been criticised for implying that there is some externally given risk level that is subsequently amplified, it does appear to capture the mentality of actors involved in issues of this kind. They talk and act as though they believe they are participants in a risk amplification process.

O papel da mídia na construção social do risco: o caso Adrianópolis, no Vale do Ribeira

Analisa a influência da mídia na construção social do risco, a partir das diferentes percepções e atitudes de moradores de uma comunidade exposta à contaminação por chumbo. O estudo contemplou análise documental e pesquisa de campo com o objetivo de compreender o papel da mídia no processo de amplificação social do risco nesse caso e observar como as respostas a uma situação de risco interagem com processos psicológicos, sociais, institucionais e culturais. Além da influência direta da mídia, este estudo de caso revelou a incidência de outros fatores a moldar as percepções do risco da comunidade, como a falta de confiança nas instituições e nos políticos, a relação do risco com as atividades ocupacionais e os valores culturais e sociais.

Social amplification of risk and environmental collective activism: a case study of Cobalt-60 contamination incident in Taiwan

This paper employs an integrated framework - social amplification of risk - to study the incident of Cobalt-60 radioactive contamination in residences in Taiwan. Here, local collective actions were briefly resident-driven and the broader movement was subsequently dominated by activists who had never been directly impacted. The author utilises a qualitative case study that draws upon in-depth interviews and analysis of documentary data to investigate the Taiwan case. The endeavour is to examine the interplay of various factors, such as social stigma and trust (mistrust) of the risk management institutions, with the experience of risks and risk-related behaviours, as well as their influence in shaping the emergence of the collective activism in response to the chronic residential radiation contamination. In addition, the analysis examines how individuals, environmental activists and governmental institutions select certain risk information, communicate with others and subsequently shape the public's ongoing interpretation and collective responses towards the event. Findings from this study serve to fill the gaps in the current environmental sociology literature.

Book Reviews

BOOK REVIEWS Matthew Humphrey, Ecological Politics and Democratic Theory: The Challenge to the Deliberative Ideal (BOB PEPPERMAN TAYLOR) Jeanne X. Kasperson and Roger E. Kasperson, The Social Contours of Risk. Volume 1: Publics, Risk Communication and the Social Amplification of Risk and Volume 2: Risk Analysis, Corporations and the Globalisation of Risk (IRENE LORENZONI ) Edward A. Page, Climate Change, Justice and Future Generations (AXEL MICHAELOWA) John Barry, Environment and Social Theory, 2nd edn. (FRANK SCHALOW) Tim Jackson, editor, The Earthscan Reader in Sustainable Consumption (ANNUKKA BERG) BOOKS RECEIVED

Borderline Disaster: The Case for Escrow in Reducing Human Vulnerability

This article argues that the territorial trap and the social amplification of risks associated with a porous border have led to an increased vulnerability for unauthorised migrants along the US-Mexico boundary. A contradiction of globalisation is discussed examining how goods and capital are given more guarantees and social protections than certain people. The concept of escrow is introduced as a mitigation measure to reduce human vulnerability. Examples of other comparable and contentious programs are discussed to support the need for such measures. The discussions and methods outlined in this article, attempt to bring about an increased awareness of the territorial trap and the role it plays in producing the hazardous conditions along the US-Mexico boundary.

Desafios futuros: de uma análise da genética e biotecnologia na imprensa portuguesa durante o biénio 1994/5 para novas tecnologias nas sociedades actuais

Este estudo analisa na imprensa Portuguesa a frequência e o conteúdo de notícias sobre genoma, genética e biotecnologia sobretudo nos domínios agrícola e da medicina/saúde humana. Discutem-se os resultados com base em estudos sobre genética e biotecnologia na imprensa Internacional, Brasileira e Portuguesa (Gutteling et al., 2002; Tognolli, 2003; Garcia, 2004) e aspectos da opinião pública e amplificação social do risco (Frewer et al. 2002), tirando-se conclusões sobre desafios com interesse para o actual evoluir na sociedade de novas tecnologias como a nanotecnologia.

Place, Culture, and the Social Amplification of Risk

This article investigates the role of culture in the social production of risks and risk communication surrounding industrial development in a region located at a rural-urban interface. A case study examined a public consultation that was undertaken to inform local residents about an eco-industrial development proposal being planned near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The research employed the social amplification of risk framework (SARF) to examine the relationships among culture, place, and socially constructed risk. A total of 44 in-depth, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 33 landowners (farmers, acreage owners), public officials (municipal politicians, administrators), journalists, and industry representatives. Analysis revealed that risk communication occurred in relation to situated experiences of place that were based on conflicting cultural worldviews. The research shows that place is a useful component of the SARF, providing a spatial explanation for why some people amplify, and others attenuate, risks in locally contentious environmental debates.

Greenpeace v. Shell: media exploitation and the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF)

This paper examines the usefulness of the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF) in understanding the media's role in risk communication. Since the SARF was created in 1988, it has been both further developed and critiqued for (amongst other things) its: static conception of communication; lack of attention towards how key actors use the media; lack of systematic attention towards the media as an amplification station; and simplistic assumptions of how the media operate as an amplification station. A complex heavily‐mediated risk communication case study—the battle between Greenpeace and Shell over the deep‐sea disposal of the Brent Spar oil rig (1995)—is used to explore whether the SARF in its current stage of development stands up to these critiques. It is concluded that these critiques are more a consequence of how researchers have used the SARF rather than a fault of the SARF itself. Using the SARF framework with a qualitative case study methodology enabled systematic analysis of the role of relevant media in the social amplification of risk in the Spar issue, exposing how Greenpeace used the media to successfully communicate three risk signals, together with the inadequacies of Shell's reactions; and revealing the layering within amplification stations, including the media itself.

Assessing the Usefulness of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Terrorism Advisory System

This study reports the results of a national survey of 1,023 U.S. adults and their evaluations of the usefulness of the color-coded U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Advisory System. The study explores the relationships among information sources, risk perception, demographics, and preparedness behaviors within the context of the social amplification of risk. Half of the respondents (48.8%) rated the advisory system as useful and half (47.0%) rated it as not useful; however, far fewer respondents reporting having made any preparations for a future attack. Strong support was found for the social amplification of risk model with 87.1 percent of the respondents reporting that terrorism was an important problem and two-thirds of those respondents reporting that news reports had influenced how important they believed the problem was. The findings also underscore that information sources were not of consequence for all respondents, and that it was the perceived utility of the advisory system, not risk perception, that impacted whether or not respondents made preparations.