TY - JOUR

T1 - Approaching the Risk Perception Gap: Effects of a Subject Matter Knowledge-Based Intervention in a Health Context

AU - Heuckmann, Benedikt

AU - Krüger, Finja

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - We conducted a short subject matter knowledge-based intervention in a quasi-experimental design and explored whether providing health-related subject matter knowledge affects university students’ risk perception and their behavioural intentions. We chose the everyday context of using antiperspirants that contain aluminium and focused on the presumption that antiperspirants facilitate Alzheimer’s disease development. This study was devoted to a risk perception gap caused by the epistemic and ontological uncertainty involved in the contextual background of using antiperspirants and developing Alzheimer’s disease. By computing repeated measures ANOVA, we found that imparting subject matter knowledge as system, action-related and effectiveness health knowledge increased students’ cognitive and affective risk perception. Path analyses revealed that cognitive and affective risk perception had an indirect, negative effect on behavioural intentions towards using antiperspirants. Attitudes and perceived behavioural control fully mediated the relationship between risk perception and intention. The mediation effect differed between students who received subject matter knowledge and students who did not. We discuss the findings from our study related to the role of subject matter knowledge for understanding risk perception, the ambiguity of overcoming and creating a risk perception gap when uncertainty holds and how risk perception relates to attitudes and behavioural intention.

AB - We conducted a short subject matter knowledge-based intervention in a quasi-experimental design and explored whether providing health-related subject matter knowledge affects university students’ risk perception and their behavioural intentions. We chose the everyday context of using antiperspirants that contain aluminium and focused on the presumption that antiperspirants facilitate Alzheimer’s disease development. This study was devoted to a risk perception gap caused by the epistemic and ontological uncertainty involved in the contextual background of using antiperspirants and developing Alzheimer’s disease. By computing repeated measures ANOVA, we found that imparting subject matter knowledge as system, action-related and effectiveness health knowledge increased students’ cognitive and affective risk perception. Path analyses revealed that cognitive and affective risk perception had an indirect, negative effect on behavioural intentions towards using antiperspirants. Attitudes and perceived behavioural control fully mediated the relationship between risk perception and intention. The mediation effect differed between students who received subject matter knowledge and students who did not. We discuss the findings from our study related to the role of subject matter knowledge for understanding risk perception, the ambiguity of overcoming and creating a risk perception gap when uncertainty holds and how risk perception relates to attitudes and behavioural intention.

KW - Risk perception

KW - risk literacy

KW - uncertainty

KW - intention

KW - theory of planned behaviour

KW - aluminium

M3 - Article

JO - Journal of Biological Education

JF - Journal of Biological Education

SN - 0021-9266

ER -