Absolute and comparative risk assessments: evidence for the utility of incorporating internal comparisons into models of risk perception

Numerous health behavior models have emphasized absolute risk perceptions as prominent predictors of future behavior and intentions, but more recent research has shown that people also attend to comparative risk information. While most research highlights external (social) comparisons as the primary way people contextualize risk, it is also possible that people use internal comparisons, such as comparing their current risk to their past risk...