Deciding to Help: Effects of Risk and Crisis Communication

Abstract

This study aimed to gain insight into the (combined) effects of risk and crisis communication on adequate behaviour during a crisis situation. In addition, it adds to the existing literature by examining the effects of risk and crisis communication on psychological factors that are involved in decision-making during a crisis. This study, utilizing a virtual environment, was a 3 (risk communication: risk information vs. risk information with course of action vs. control) 3 2 (crisis communication: with recommended behaviours vs. without recommended behaviours) between subjects design. Both risk and crisis communication supported adequate behaviour in a crisis situation. In addition, through risk communication, participants had less affective reactions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. 1 Deciding to help: effects of risk and crisis communication E ven though a lot is invested in highly sophisticated emergency and disaster management systems, ordinary citizens are usually the first responders when an emergency occurs. These citizens are already present at the scene, and it takes some time before emergency services arrive (Prati, Catufi & Pietrantoni, 2012; Whittaker, McLennan & Handmer, 2015). As they are at the scene, citizens can directly help victims and mitigate negative consequences of the situation at hand (Whittaker et al., 2015). However, not every individual may be able to provide help in an adequate way due to limited knowledge and skills, and actions may not always be optimal given the situation at hand (Fernandez, Barbera & van Dorp, 2006; Hur, 2012). Citizen participation on emergency and disaster sites is inevitable, so governments and crisis management organizations should integrate the help of ordinary citizens in mitigation, adaptation, or emergency management and recovery plans (Hoss, Klima & Fischbeck, 2014). This is necessary to reduce the risk that untrained and uncoordinated citizens provide help that is not adequate for the specific emergency (Whittaker et al., 2015). A way to guide adequate behaviour during crises is by risk and crisis communication (Vihalemm, Kiisel & Harro-Loit, 2012). While risk communication is mainly focused on increasing risk awareness before a crisis occurs, crisis communication is focused on communication during a crisis to prevent or reduce the negative consequences of a crisis (Coombs, 1999; Seeger, 2006). As noted by Sellnow, Lane, Littlefield, Sellnow, Wilson, Beauchamp and Venette (2015), effective communication to elicit appropriate actions both before and during a crisis should not be sender-focused, but receiver-focused. In order to adjust information to receiver needs, it is important to understand how citizens interpret and respond to these messages and how it relates to citizen behaviour during a crisis. Although there is a lot of literature on risk and crisis communication as separate research lines, little is known about the interaction between the two types of communication (Reynolds & Seeger, 2005; Steelman & McCaffrey, 2013). Recen...

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