Information Seeking and Processing during the Outbreak of COVID-19 in Taiwan: Examining the Effects of Emotions and Informational Subjective Norms

Shu-Chu Sarrina Li, Shih-Yu Lo, Tai-Yee Wu and Te-Lin Chen
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Shu-Chu Sarrina Li: Institute of Communication Studies, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
Shih-Yu Lo: Institute of Communication Studies, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
Tai-Yee Wu: Institute of Communication Studies, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
Te-Lin Chen: Institute of Applied Arts, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-13

Abstract: Adopting the model of risk information seeking and processing (RISP) as a theoretical framework, the objective of this study was to investigate the factors that prompted individuals’ information-seeking and -processing behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan. There were two unique aspects in this study: one was to adopt specific emotions to investigate the impact of negative emotions, and the other was to examine the effect of informational subjective norms (ISNs) on information-seeking and -processing behavior. An online survey was conducted by a professional polling company, and a stratified random sampling method was employed, using gender, age, education, personal income, and residential areas as strata to select participants. This study obtained 1100 valid questionnaires. The results showed that (1) risk perception did not exert any significant impacts on respondents’ perceived information insufficiency; (2) risk perception exerted a powerful impact on respondents’ ISNs, which, in turn, positively affected their information insufficiency; (3) the respondents who experienced fear were found to have a high probability of using a systematic-processing mode, while the respondents who experienced anger were more likely to adopt a heuristic-processing mode to process information; and (4) the use of a systematic-processing mode was positively associated, while the use of a heuristic-processing mode was negatively associated, with information-seeking behavior.

Keywords: information seeking and processing; information-processing modes; COVID-19; RISP; informational subjective norms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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