Examining Publics' Crisis Responses According to Different Shades of Anger and Sympathy

Abstract

Integrating the discrete emotions and emotional dimensionality theories in crisis communication research, a 2 (emotional type: anger vs. sympathy) × 2 (emotional intensity: high vs. low) between-subjects experiment using a random general public sample was designed to examine the variance in publics' crisis coping strategies and their acceptance of different organizational crisis responses, as a function of crisis-induced anger and sympathy of different intensity. Differential influences of emotional type and intensity on coping and crisis response preferences were found. Interaction effects revealed: (a) more intense sympathetic feelings lead to higher likelihood of conative coping preference; (b) more sympathy at low intensity contributes to more preference of active cognitive coping and acceptance of accommodative organizational responses; and (c) more intense anger is related to acceptance of more defensive crisis response such as scapegoating.

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