Why comply? Risk and efficacy perceptions drive compliance in mass marketing scams.

Using a mix-method design, we examined participants' willingness to respond to mass marketing scams (MMS). In Experiment 1, we examined the effect of age (young versus older) and letter style ("hot" versus "cold") on the intention to respond. The intention of responding was negatively associated with risk ( < .

Risk assessment communication difficulties: An empirical examination of the effects of categorical versus probabilistic risk communication in sexually violent predator decisions.

Expert testimony concerning risk and its communication to the trier of fact has important implications for some of the most significant legal decisions. In a simulated sexual violent predator hearing, we examined how mock jurors interpret and use recidivism risk expert testimony communicated either categorically, using verbal labels, or probabilistically, using numeric values. Based upon the STATIC-99R, we compared mock jurors' decision-making and verdicts when we manipulated the style of risk communication across four different risk levels.

Call to claim your prize: Perceived benefits and risk drive intention to comply in a mass marketing scam.

Mass marketing scams extract an enormous toll, yet the literature on scams is just emerging. In Experiment 1, 211 adults reviewed a solicitation and rated their intention of contacting an "activation number" for a prize. Scarcity and authority were manipulated.