Perceived vulnerability to illness threats: The role of disease type, risk factor perception and attributions
Abstract
This study examined the tendency for people to be unrealistically optimistic about their personal vulnerability to illness threats. Evidence was found for optimistic biases that were especially strong for illness threats perceived to be life-threatening and related to behaviour. In subjects' explanations for their perceptions of risk, it was found that actions as well as physical and physiological attributes were cited in an optimistically skewed manner, decreasing but seldom increasing one's risk. Also subjects' perceptions of risk were significantly and positively related to perceived similarity to persons at risk for the illness threat as well as to greater experience, whether direct or indirect, with the disease in question. Contrary to predictions, subjects' ratings of the controllability of the illness threat were not related to perceived risk.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The type of disease condition may influence perceived disease threat and health risk, which in turn impacts adherence behavior.
“the type of disease condition may influence perceived disease threat and health risk,20 which in turn impacts adherence behavior.21”
From An Adaptable Framework for Factors Contributing to Medication Adherence: Results from a Systematic Review of 102 Conceptual Frameworks (2021) · cites this paper as [20]
Cites
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.185.4157.1124 · Cited by 28,810 · see citing works
Statistical principles in experimental design.
Winer, B. J. (1962) · McGraw-Hill Book Company · doi:10.1037/11774-000 · Cited by 27,137 · see citing works
Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1975) · Utility, Probability, and Human Decision Making · doi:10.1007/978-94-010-1834-0_8 · Cited by 22,650 · see citing works
Availability: A heuristic for judging frequency and probability
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1973) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1016/0010-0285(73)90033-9 · Cited by 9,984 · see citing works
Unrealistic optimism about future life events
Weinstein, N. D. (1980) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.39.5.806 · Cited by 4,999 · see citing works
Statistical Principles in Experimental Design
Green, P. E., Winer, B. J., Brown, D. R., & Michels, K. M. (1992) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.2307/3172747 · Cited by 4,333 · see citing works
Downward comparison principles in social psychology
Wills, T. A. (1981) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.90.2.245 · Cited by 2,705 · see citing works
Sociobehavioral Determinants of Compliance with Health and Medical Care Recommendations
Becker, M. H., & Maiman, L. A. (1975) · Medical Care · doi:10.1097/00005650-197501000-00002 · Cited by 1,584 · see citing works
Judged frequency of lethal events.
Lichtenstein, S., Slovic, P., Fischhoff, B., Layman, M., & Combs, B. (1978) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Learning & Memory · doi:10.1037/0278-7393.4.6.551 · Cited by 1,539 · see citing works
Weinstein, N. D. (1987) · Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/bf00846146 · Cited by 1,297 · see citing works
Why it won't happen to me: Perceptions of risk factors and susceptibility.
Weinstein, N. D. (1984) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037//0278-6133.3.5.431 · Cited by 1,029 · see citing works
Unrealistic optimism about susceptibility to health problems
Weinstein, N. D. (1982) · Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/bf00845372 · Cited by 911 · see citing works
Self-other judgments and perceived vulnerability to victimization.
Perloff, L. S., & Fetzer, B. K. (1986) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.50.3.502 · Cited by 703 · see citing works
Orienting Dispositions in the Perception of Risk
Dake, K. (1991) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022191221006 · Cited by 620 · see citing works
Effects of personal experience on self-protective behavior.
Weinstein, N. D. (1989) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.105.1.31 · Cited by 613 · see citing works
Reducing unrealistic optimism about illness susceptibility.
Weinstein, N. D. (1983) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/0278-6133.2.1.11 · Cited by 399 · see citing works
Mays, V. M., & Cochran, S. D. (1988) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037//0003-066x.43.11.949 · Cited by 378 · see citing works
Cognitive Representation of Risk Perceptions
Kleinhesselink, R. R., & Rosa, E. A. (1991) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022191221004 · Cited by 169 · see citing works
The Perception of Environmental Risks among Ethnically Diverse Groups
Vaughan, E., & Nordenstam, B. J. (1991) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022191221005 · Cited by 169 · see citing works
Misperception Among Gay Men of the Risk for AIDS Associated with Their Sexual Behavior1
Bauman, L. J., & Siegel, K. (1987) · Journal of Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1987.tb00317.x · Cited by 152 · see citing works
The use of food to treat and prevent disease in chinese culture
Koo, L. C. (1984) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(84)90102-3 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Risk perception and behavior: Pessimism, realism, and optimism about aids-related health behavior
van der Velde, F. W., Hooykaas, C., & van der Pligt, J. (1992) · Psychology and Health · doi:10.1080/08870449208402018 · Cited by 127 · see citing works
The Instrumental and Symbolic Functions of Attitudes toward Persons with AIDS1
Pryor, J. B., Reeder, G. D., Vinacco, R., & Kott, T. L. (1989) · Journal of Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1989.tb00062.x · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Understanding the Understanding of Illness: Lay Disease Representations
Bishop, G. D. (1991) · Contributions to psychology and medicine · doi:10.1007/978-1-4613-9074-9_3 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
Self-citationEffects of reviewing risk-relevant behavior on perceived vulnerability among women marines.
Gerrard, M., Gibbons, F. X., & Warner, T. D. (1991) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/0278-6133.10.3.173 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Lay Beliefs About Overcoming Psychological Problems
Furnham, A., & Henley, S. (1988) · Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1521/jscp.1988.6.3-4.423 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Chinese Lay Beliefs about the Causes and Cures of Psychological Problems
Luk, C., & Bond, M. H. (1992) · Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1521/jscp.1992.11.2.140 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Lay Disease Representations and Responses to Victims of Disease
Bishop, G. D. (1991) · Basic and Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1207/s15324834basp1201_8 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Self-citationAsian Self-Effacement or Feminine Modesty?
Crittenden, K. S. (1991) · Gender & Society · doi:10.1177/089124391005001005 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Situated Optimism: Specific Outcome Expectancies and Self-Regulation
Armor, D. A., & Taylor, S. E. (1998) · Advances in experimental social psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60386-x · Cited by 453 · see citing works
Unrealistic optimism about future life events: A cautionary note.
Harris, A. J. L., & Hahn, U. (2010) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/a0020997 · Cited by 217 · see citing works
Peh, K. Q. E., Kwan, Y. H., Goh, H., Ramchandani, H., Phang, J. K., Lim, Z. Y., Loh, D. H. F., Østbye, T., Blalock, D. V., Yoon, S., et al. (2021) · Journal of General Internal Medicine · doi:10.1007/s11606-021-06648-1 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
Self‐enhancement, crash‐risk optimism and the impact of safety advertisements on young drivers
Harré, N., Foster, S., & O'Neill, M. (2005) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1348/000712605x36019 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
Miles, S., & Scaife, V. (2003) · Nutrition Research Reviews · doi:10.1079/nrr200249 · Cited by 144 · see citing works
Gerend, M. A., Aiken, L. S., West, S. G., & Erchull, M. J. (2004) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/0278-6133.23.3.247 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Parry, S. M., Miles, S., Tridente, A., Palmer, S., & South and East Wales Infectious Disease Group (2004) · Risk Analysis · doi:10.1111/j.0272-4332.2004.00429.x · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Personality Factors in Older Women's Perceived Susceptibility to Diseases of Aging
Gerend, M. A., Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (2004) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/j.0022-3506.2004.00262.x · Cited by 57 · see citing works
The Perception of Health Risks
Renner, B., & Schupp, H. T. (2012) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195342819.013.0026 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Roberts, S. A., McGowan, L., Hirst, W. M., Vail, A., Rutherford, A. J., Lieberman, B. A., & Brison, D. R. (2010) · Human Reproduction · doi:10.1093/humrep/deq352 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Roberts, S., McGowan, L., Hirst, W. M., Brison, D. R., Vail, A., & Lieberman, B. A. (2010) · Health Technology Assessment · doi:10.3310/hta14380 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Psychological Mediators of the Sport Injury—Perceived Risk Relationship
Deroche, T., Stéphan, Y., Woodman, T., & Scanff, C. L. (2011) · Risk Analysis · doi:10.1111/j.1539-6924.2011.01646.x · Cited by 37 · see citing works
The effect of financial scarcity on discretionary spending, borrowing, and investing
Sarial‐Abi, G., Ulqinaku, A., Viglia, G., & Das, G. (2021) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-021-00811-0 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Crona, B., Rönnbäck, P., Jiddawi, N. S., Ochiewo, J. O., Maghimbi, S., & Bandeira, S. (2009) · Global Environmental Change · doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2009.01.001 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Impact of Risk Information on Perceived Colorectal Cancer Risk
Robb, K. A., Miles, A., Campbell, J., Evans, P. H., & Wardle, J. (2008) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/1359105308093858 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
The construct of breast cancer risk perception: need for a better risk communication?
Et, D. J., Vlasselaer, J., G, V. D. P., & Schobbens, J. C. (2009) · PubMed Central · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Unrealistic optimism and event threat
Gold, R. S. (2008) · Psychology Health & Medicine · doi:10.1080/13548500701426745 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Harris, A. J. L., de Molière, L., Soh, M., & Hahn, U. (2017) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0173136 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Getting away from death fear: How disease threat drives consumers' colorfulness seeking
Yi, Y., Luo, Z., Wang, W., Li, J., & Han, B. (2023) · Journal of Consumer Behaviour · doi:10.1002/cb.2262 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Explaining gay men's unrealistic optimism about becoming infected with HIV
Gold, R. S. (2004) · International Journal of STD & AIDS · doi:10.1258/095646204322764280 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Risikostereotype, Risikowahrnehmung und Risikoverhalten im Zusammenhang mit HIV
Renner, B., & Schwarzer, R. (2003) · Zeitschrift für Gesundheitspsychologie · doi:10.1026//0943-8149.11.3.112 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Culture and Health Persuasion: Differences between Koreans and Americans
Yoon, S., Lalwani, A. K., Vargas, P. T., Kim, K. K., & Taylor, C. R. (2020) · Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising · doi:10.1080/10641734.2019.1706211 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Nagourney, E. M., Robertson, N. M., Rykiel, N. A., Siddharthan, T., Alupo, P., Encarnacíon, M., Kirenga, B., Kalyesubula, R., Quaderi, S. A., Hurst, J. R., et al. (2020) · Health Education Research · doi:10.1093/her/cyaa016 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Figueiras, M. J., Neto, D. D., & Marôco, J. P. (2022) · BMC Women s Health · doi:10.1186/s12905-022-01771-5 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Shiloh, S., Peretz, G., Iss, R., & Kiedan, R. (2007) · Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s10865-007-9100-0 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Newman, C. L., & Kashmiri, S. (2021) · International Journal of Advertising · doi:10.1080/02650487.2021.1947009 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Perceived risk and consumer decision making related to health services: a comparative study
Ashford, R., Cuthbert, P. F., & Shani, N. (2000) · International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing · doi:10.1002/nvsm.97 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Objective risk, subjective risk, and colorectal cancer screening among a clinic sample
Matthews, B. A., Nattinger, A. B., Venkatesan, T., Shaker, R., & Anderson, R. C. (2006) · Psychology Health & Medicine · doi:10.1080/13548500500429312 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Consumer perceptions of risks from food
Frewer, L. J., & Fischer, A. R. H. (2005) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1533/9781845690533.1.103 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Trust as a daily defense against collective disease threats
Murray, S. L., Xia, J., Lamarche, V. M., Seery, M. D., McNulty, J. K., Griffin, D. W., Ward, D. E., & Hicks, L. L. (2022) · Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.cresp.2022.100071 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Investigating the influence of outcome utility on estimates of probability
Harris, A. J. L. (2009) · ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Consumer Perceptions of Risks From Food
Frewer, L. J., Fischer, A. R. H., & Kaptan, G. (2016) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-100155-4.00002-9 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
How do risk beliefs and ethics affect food choice?
Saba, A. (2007) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1533/9781845693381.1.108 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Ashford, R., Cuthbert, P. F., & Shani, N. (2015) · Developments in marketing science: proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-17356-6_23
THEORETICAL NOTE Unrealistic Optimism About Future Life Events: A Cautionary Note
Harris, A. J. L., & Hahn, U. (2011)
COVID-19 in France: A Multiphase and Multidimensional Approach to a Complex Societal Imbalance
Martin, C., & Pérès, F. (2021) · CRC Press eBooks · doi:10.1201/9781003181590-34
Basic Oral Health-Related Psychology
Johnsen, J.-A. K., Rogers, A. A., Bergdahl, J., & Willumsen, T. (2022) · Textbooks in contemporary dentistry · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-04248-5_1
Xu, K., Jiang, H., & Wang, H. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1678651
- Authors
- Lek, Y.-Y., & Bishop, G. D.
- Affiliations
- National University of Singapore (SG)
- ORCID
- Bishop, George d.
- Venue
- Psychology & Health
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 1995-04
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 205-217
- ISSN
- 0887-0446 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-8321
- OpenAlex
- W2072817457
- Cited by
- 39
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 1.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychology and Health (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Risk Perception and Management
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Optimism, Hope, and Well-being
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
- Keywords
- perceived susceptibility, optimism bias, risk perception, disease type, life-threatening illness, illness behavior, attribution, perceived similarity, disease experience, controllability
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review