TY - JOUR
T1 - Dismissing “Don’t Know” Responses to Perceived Risk Survey Items Threatens the Validity of Theoretical and Empirical Behavior-Change Research
AU - Waters, Erika A.
AU - Kiviniemi, Marc T.
AU - Hay, Jennifer L.
AU - Orom, Heather
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
PY - 2022/5
Y1 - 2022/5
N2 - Since the middle of the 20th century, perceptions of risk have been critical to understanding engagement in volitional behavior change. However, theoretical and empirical risk perception research seldom considers the possibility that risk perceptions do not simply exist: They must be formed. Thus, some people may not have formulated a perception of risk for a hazard at the time a researcher asks them, or they may not be confident in the extent to which their perception matches reality. We describe a decade-long research program that investigates the possibility that some people may genuinely not know their risk of even well-publicized hazards. We demonstrate that indications of not knowing (i.e., “don’t know” responses) are prevalent in the U.S. population, are systematically more likely to occur among marginalized sociodemographic groups, and are associated with less engagement in protective health behaviors. “Don’t know” responses are likely indications of genuinely limited knowledge and therefore may indicate populations in need of targeted intervention. This body of research suggests that not allowing participants to indicate their uncertainty may threaten the validity and generalizability of behavior-change research. We provide concrete recommendations for scientists to allow participants to express uncertainty and to analyze the resulting data.
AB - Since the middle of the 20th century, perceptions of risk have been critical to understanding engagement in volitional behavior change. However, theoretical and empirical risk perception research seldom considers the possibility that risk perceptions do not simply exist: They must be formed. Thus, some people may not have formulated a perception of risk for a hazard at the time a researcher asks them, or they may not be confident in the extent to which their perception matches reality. We describe a decade-long research program that investigates the possibility that some people may genuinely not know their risk of even well-publicized hazards. We demonstrate that indications of not knowing (i.e., “don’t know” responses) are prevalent in the U.S. population, are systematically more likely to occur among marginalized sociodemographic groups, and are associated with less engagement in protective health behaviors. “Don’t know” responses are likely indications of genuinely limited knowledge and therefore may indicate populations in need of targeted intervention. This body of research suggests that not allowing participants to indicate their uncertainty may threaten the validity and generalizability of behavior-change research. We provide concrete recommendations for scientists to allow participants to express uncertainty and to analyze the resulting data.
KW - judgment
KW - quantitative methodology
KW - reasoning
KW - risk perception
KW - social cognition
KW - socioeconomic status
KW - thinking
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85120448547&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85120448547&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/17456916211017860
DO - 10.1177/17456916211017860
M3 - Article
C2 - 34813719
AN - SCOPUS:85120448547
SN - 1745-6916
VL - 17
SP - 841
EP - 851
JO - Perspectives on Psychological Science
JF - Perspectives on Psychological Science
IS - 3
ER -