Dread and unknown characteristics of particulate matter pollution: cognitive and affective routes to air pollution prevention

This study investigates the effect of dread and unknown risks on individuals’ cognitive and affective responses and decision-making related to particulate matter (PM) air pollution. In particular, we investigate how dread and unknown risks play different roles in forming the cognitive and affective routes that affect the South Korean public’s intentions to reduce PM air pollution by adopting risk mitigation behaviors. One thousand South Korean adults participated in the study via a professional research company in 2022. Statistical analysis was performed using PROCESS Marco. Indirect effects and their significance were estimated using bias-corrected bootstrap (n = 5,000 resampling) confidence intervals (CIs). According to the results, perceived dread of PM air pollution had significant and positive associations with perceived health risks and negative emotion, and perceived risks had a significant and positive association with negative emotion. Moreover, the perceived unknown-ness of PM air pollution had a significant and positive association with perceived uncertainty, which had a significant and negative association with negative emotion. Our mediation models demonstrate that the cognitive and affective routes associated with the two risk dimensions had different effects on behavioral intentions to reduce PM air pollution. These distinct cognitive and affective routes have significant theoretical implications for the effective application of the psychometric paradigm in addressing various risk-related issues. The findings also imply that an appropriate level of negative emotion is crucial to motivate the public’s engagement in risk-reduction behaviors. While employing campaign messages that integrate perceived risk and negative emotional appeals derived from dread can be effective, caution should be taken not to diminish the public’s negative emotions when addressing the risk-related uncertainty in campaigns or interventions. Overall, our findings not only have several practical implications for environmental communication strategies but also make important theoretical contributions to the literature on risk perceptions and the psychometric paradigm.