An Assessment of the Influence of Race and Gender on Risk Perception Determined from Pictographs
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Gabriel Goldstein Koslow
College:
The College of Health Professions and Human Services
Major:
Genetic Counseling
Faculty Research Advisor(s):
Jill Fischer
Abstract:
Pictographs are pictures, used as visual aids, to communicate ideas. Often used in healthcare, they are a way to present data in an easily understandable format, especially for those who may have a hard time understanding the numbers or statistics required to make important healthcare decisions. This study explores how racial and gender concordance (between participants and a pictograph), can influence risk perception based on a hypothetical scenario. Participants were Kean University students recruited through their professors. We presented participants with a hypothetical risk scenario, depicted the risk involved using a pictograph, and collected participants’ demographic information. Pictographs of people with various races and genders were randomly assigned to participants, and their perceived risks based on these pictographs were recorded. No significant differences were observed between concordant and discordant groups. No significant differences were found between gender or racial groups. We interpret these findings as evidence that it is effective to use visual aids depicting various races and genders without fear of generating undue or incorrect risk perception.