Interacting arguments in crisis communication: The influence of message convergence on risk and crisis messages

By their nature, risks, and crises create uncertainty. This uncertainty causes both discomfort and confusion for those seeking to protect themselves and their loved ones from the threat at hand. As more information is revealed about a risk or crisis, interacting arguments often coalesce to reveal points or convergence. This exploratory study examined the relationships among message convergence and the desire to seek additional information, source credibility, risk severity, and perceptions of message consistency in response to a notable risk to the food supply. Results indicated that those participants viewing content with high convergence had heightened perceptions of source credibility, risk severity, and message consistency. They did not, however, indicate a need to seek further information. These results suggest that organizations and agencies offering warnings about risks and crises can benefit from message convergence.