ERIC Number: EJ1232627
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Dec
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0090-6905
EISSN: N/A
Verbal Descriptions Accompanying Numeric Information about the Risk: The Valence of Message and Linguistic Polarity
Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, v48 n6 p1429-1439 Dec 2019
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of presenting risk on decision making and evaluations with regard to the valence (positive vs. negative) and the linguistic polarity (direct vs. indirect). Participants were presented with a message in which patients were informed about risk associated with some diagnostic medical procedures. In the presented text, before obtaining statistical information about risk (e.g., 1 in 1000), four types of the verbal descriptions were used (risk is high/risk is not low/risk is low/risk is not high). The valence of information influenced the decision and respondent's evaluation. Participants receiving a verbal description with a positive valence were more positive about the patient' decision, and more positively evaluated the doctor and patient's mood than participants receiving a description with a negative valence. Neither main nor interaction effects with linguistic polarity were found. The research does not support that indirect wording mitigates the meaning of a message on risk and highlights the strength and persistence of relying on the verbal description, particularly their affective valence.
Descriptors: Risk, Decision Making, Patients, Correlation, Diagnostic Tests, Verbal Communication, Physician Patient Relationship, Psychological Patterns, Medical Evaluation, Discourse Analysis, Affective Behavior
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A