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Slippery Slopes to Apprehension:

Rationality and Graphical Depictions of Increasingly Threatening Trends

Department of Communication, University of California, Davis

Two experiments examined the interactive effects of rational thinking style and variations in the slopes of threatening trends on individuals’ judgments. In Experiment 1, individuals read news stories containing graphical depictions of linearly increasing rates of campus theft. Apprehension, problem seriousness, and perceived risk of theft victimization judgments were made in response to three different slopes (shallow, moderate, and steep). High rationals demonstrated less apprehension and more attenuated problem seriousness judgments, and high rationals’ judgments showed greater variabilityin response to the slope variations than did those of the low rationals. Experiment 2 employed a linear and two nonlinear functions with identical initial and final values. Results for Experiment 2 were consistent with those of Experiment 1. High rationals appear more likely to heed cues that serve to reduce the amount of apprehension they experience in response to graphically presented information about increasingly threatening trends.

Key Words: graphical depictions • threatening trends • rationality • apprehension

Communication Research, Vol. 32, No. 1, 3-28 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0093650204271397


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