University of Trento Reports Findings in Risk Management (Language modality influences risk perception: Innovations read well but sound even better): Risk Management

2022 MAR 31 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Risk Management is the subject of a report. According to news originating from Trento, Italy, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Psychological theories implicitly assume that the modality in which information is conveyed-spoken or written-leaves judgment and choice unaltered. Modality is rarely considered in textbooks on judgment and decision making, and the selection of modality in research is often based on convenience.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of Trento, “We challenge this theoretical assumption. Three experiments (N = 984) show that the modality in which novel technologies are described systematically influences their perceived risk and benefit. Participants either read or heard advantages and disadvantages of novel technologies and then assessed their risk and benefit. In Study 1, spoken descriptions prompted more positive evaluations toward the technologies in terms of overall risks and benefits than written descriptions. Studies 2 and 3 replicated this modality effect and demonstrated that affect partially explains it, as spoken descriptions induced more positive feelings toward the new technologies than written descriptions. Study 3 (preregistered) showed that the influence of modality is unique to novel technologies and does not extend to familiar ones.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “These findings contribute theoretically to the understanding of the relationship between language and thought, and carry implications for survey research and the use of voice assistant technology.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Language modality influences risk perception: Innovations read well but sound even better. Risk Analysis, 2022. Risk Analysis can be contacted at: Wiley, 111 River St, Hoboken 07030-5774, NJ, USA. (Wiley-Blackwell - http://www.wiley.com/; Risk Analysis - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1539-6924)

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from Constantinos Hadjichristidis, Dept. of Economics and Management, University of Trento, Trento, Italy. Additional authors for this research include Janet Geipel, Lucia Savadori and Boaz Keysar.

The publisher’s contact information for the journal Risk Analysis is: Wiley, 111 River St, Hoboken 07030-5774, NJ, USA.

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