Cognitive and affective risk perceptions toward food safety outbreaks: mediating the relation between news use and food consumption intention

Abstract

Much research on risk perception and health behavior has examined cognitive dimensions of risk but not affective dimensions. To address this gap, this study examines both cognitive risk perception (perceived risk of susceptibility and severity) and affective risk perception (worry) in the context of food safety risks in East Asia. We investigate their roles in independently and jointly predicting intention to consume outbreak-associated food products, as well as mediating the influences of news exposure and attention on intention. Data from a nationwide survey in South Korea (N = 1500) lent overall support for our hypotheses in both cases of processed food from China and seafood from Japan. Our findings show: (1) both perceived risk and worry were negatively associated with food consumption intention, and the associ-ation between perceived risk and intention was stronger among those higher in worry; (2) news attention had stronger associations with perceived risk and worry than news exposure, and attention moderated the relationship between news exposure and perceived risk; and (3) perceived risk and worry mediated the associations between news use and food consumption intention. Implications and limitations of the findings are discussed.