Beyond Unrealistic Optimism: The Role of Information-Gaining Behaviors in Estimating Relative Risk Perception of Lung Cancer.

Based on dual-processing theories, we hypothesized that information-gaining behaviors (i.e., information-seeking and information-scanning) estimate relative risk perception. Using the 2005 Health Information National Trends Survey, we tested the main effects of information-gaining behaviors, personal relevance (i.e., personal or family history of cancer), smoking and the interaction effects between smoking and information-gaining behaviors, and the interaction effects of personal relevance and information-gaining behaviors on relative risk perception. The results show that a positive association between smoking and relative risk perception of lung cancer becomes stronger when individuals seek and scan more health information. In addition, personal relevance is positively associated with relative risk perception of lung cancer. However, the main effects of information-gaining behaviors and an interaction effect between personal relevance and information-scanning were not found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]