Media Influence on Intention for Risk-Aversive Behaviors: The Direct and Indirect Influence of Blogs through Presumed Influence on Others

Abstract

Media can influence people directly and indirectly through presumed influence on others. This study examined the direct and indirect pathways of media influence. The direct pathway started from the perceived effects of media on self, to anxiety of self, and to behavioral intentions of self. The indirect influence started from the presumed effects of media on others, to others’ anxiety, to others’ behaviors, and to behavioral intentions of self. A survey was conducted regarding the effects of blog messages about fishery contamination associated with the Fukushima nuclear accident (N = 306). Both influence pathways were effective, but the direct influence was stronger than the indirect influence. The relationship between participants’ intentions to change their behaviors and their presumptions about others’ behavioral changes was reciprocal, and the effect of the former on the latter was greater than the opposite.