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Using an inoculation message approach to promote public confidence in protective agencies |
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| Authors: | Bobi Ivanov William J. Burns Timothy L. Sellnow Elizabeth L. Petrun Sayers Shari R. Veil Marcus W. Mayorga |
| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Integrated Strategic Communication, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA;2. Decision Research, Eugene, OR, USA;3. Nicholson School of Communication, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA;4. RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, USA;5. Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA |
| Abstract: | This investigation tested the effectiveness of inoculation as a pre-crisis strategy in combating the effects of politically motivated violent acts. A four-phase experiment was conducted involving 355 national consumer panel participants. The findings indicate that inoculation can be an effective pre-crisis message strategy as it was successful in enhancing public beliefs in the ability of government agencies to prevent, and minimize the effects of, violent acts. This strategy also created a ‘blanket of protection’ that extended beyond the focal politically motivated attack event as it enhanced the confidence in government agencies to manage national crises in general. Inoculation was also effective in lowering the intensity of experienced fear evoked by the threat of violent attacks and it enhanced the ability of individuals to cope with the aftermath of a crisis. |
| Keywords: | Inoculation terrorism public confidence risk and crisis message strategy |