MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS OF ILLNESS THREATS AND PERCEIVED VULNERABILITY

Abstract

This study examined the tendency for people to be unrealistically optimistic about their personal vulnerabiliy to illness threats. It was found that optimistic biaes were especially strong for illness threats which were life-threatening and controllable by personal actions. In subjects' explanations of risk, it was found that actions and behaviour as well as physical and physiological attributes were cited in an optimistically skewed manner, decreasing but seldom increasing one's risk. Three attributional components of mental representations were examined in an attempt to explain optimistic biases in assessments of personal vulnerability. Two dimensions, Perceived Similarity to high-risk groups and Personal Involvement were found to be correlated with perceptions of risk while the third attributional dimension, Perceived Control was not correlated with perceptions of risk. In the light of these findings, practical implications were drawn and suggestions made for future research.