Risk behaviour: Towards a model of affectively construed action

The purpose of the study was to examine the relation between mental construals of risk-related behaviour and self-reported behaviour performance (i.e. car-speeding). The study is integrative, theoretically building upon Personal Construct Theory and conceptual frameworks developed in emotion research. Construals of speeding and non-speeding were measured by 15 semantic differential scales, comprising both cognitive aspects (e.g. control and risk perception) and emotional aspects (e.g. fear, happiness) (N = 1075). Construals were found to be organised within a two-dimensional structure, interpreted as basically affective. Reported speeding behaviour was related to both dimensions of construal, and construals of both the risk behaviour and the alternative behaviour had independent effects upon behaviour (Multiple R = 0.65, P< 0.001). Interpretation of the results focuses on the underlying affective qualities of the construals as motivators in the process of risk behaviour generation. A Model of Affectively Construed Action (MACA), comprising the notion of emotional cybernetics, is proposed as a framework for understanding risk behaviour.