Visualizing versus Verbalizing: A Differential Effect on Risk Perception and Risk Taking

Abstract

Although there is broad agreement that perception of risks determines risk behaviour, previous research shows that this correlation is not as simple as expected. Visualization and verbalization are two dominant ways in which people process information and make decisions subsequently, but their influence on risk perception and ultimately risk taking has not yet been explored. We hypothesize that visualizers see more potential harms in taking risks but not more benefits, compared with verbalizers. We test this hypothesis using a series of experiments. We show that visualization versus verbalizing is an important individual difference variable, and we show that it can influence risk perceptions and therefore risk taking. The presented studies demonstrate that active processing of risk information helps to better understand information given. This has an important impact on risk communication.