Medicine in the popular press: the influence of the media on perceptions of disease.
In an age of increasing globalization and discussion of the possibility of global pandemics, increasing rates of reporting of these events may influence public perception of risk. The present studies investigate the impact of high levels of media reporting on the perceptions of disease. Undergraduat...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2008-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2569209?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1818499653743673344 |
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| author | Meredith E Young Geoffrey R Norman Karin R Humphreys |
| author_facet | Meredith E Young Geoffrey R Norman Karin R Humphreys |
| author_sort | Meredith E Young |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In an age of increasing globalization and discussion of the possibility of global pandemics, increasing rates of reporting of these events may influence public perception of risk. The present studies investigate the impact of high levels of media reporting on the perceptions of disease. Undergraduate psychology and medical students were asked to rate the severity, future prevalence and disease status of both frequently reported diseases (e.g. avian flu) and infrequently reported diseases (e.g. yellow fever). Participants considered diseases that occur frequently in the media to be more serious, and have higher disease status than those that infrequently occur in the media, even when the low media frequency conditions were considered objectively 'worse' by a separate group of participants. Estimates of severity also positively correlated with popular print media frequency in both student populations. However, we also see that the concurrent presentation of objective information about the diseases can mitigate this effect. It is clear from these data that the media can bias our perceptions of disease. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T20:32:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5cf2eee6e00743d1ab4435ab2f3be9c8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T20:32:23Z |
| publishDate | 2008-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-5cf2eee6e00743d1ab4435ab2f3be9c82022-12-22T01:34:37ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032008-01-01310e355210.1371/journal.pone.0003552Medicine in the popular press: the influence of the media on perceptions of disease.Meredith E YoungGeoffrey R NormanKarin R HumphreysIn an age of increasing globalization and discussion of the possibility of global pandemics, increasing rates of reporting of these events may influence public perception of risk. The present studies investigate the impact of high levels of media reporting on the perceptions of disease. Undergraduate psychology and medical students were asked to rate the severity, future prevalence and disease status of both frequently reported diseases (e.g. avian flu) and infrequently reported diseases (e.g. yellow fever). Participants considered diseases that occur frequently in the media to be more serious, and have higher disease status than those that infrequently occur in the media, even when the low media frequency conditions were considered objectively 'worse' by a separate group of participants. Estimates of severity also positively correlated with popular print media frequency in both student populations. However, we also see that the concurrent presentation of objective information about the diseases can mitigate this effect. It is clear from these data that the media can bias our perceptions of disease.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2569209?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Meredith E Young Geoffrey R Norman Karin R Humphreys Medicine in the popular press: the influence of the media on perceptions of disease. PLoS ONE |
| title | Medicine in the popular press: the influence of the media on perceptions of disease. |
| title_full | Medicine in the popular press: the influence of the media on perceptions of disease. |
| title_fullStr | Medicine in the popular press: the influence of the media on perceptions of disease. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Medicine in the popular press: the influence of the media on perceptions of disease. |
| title_short | Medicine in the popular press: the influence of the media on perceptions of disease. |
| title_sort | medicine in the popular press the influence of the media on perceptions of disease |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2569209?pdf=render |
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