ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some of the important rhetorical and social scientific theories and models available to facilitate understanding of the role of influence in risk and crisis environments. Inasmuch rhetoric is influence, rhetorical theory gives us tools to understand this influence and, ultimately, persuasive communication. Yet, given the innate connection of rhetoric and persuasion, rhetoric is regarded with suspicion and sometimes as unethical. According to risk information seeking and processing model, perceptions of information sufficiency are influenced by a number of factors. First, there are individual characteristics that come into play influencing how a risk or hazard is perceived. These characteristics have a bearing on how the individual perceives the characteristics of the risk or hazard, what informational subjective norms a person perceives, and how much knowledge a person has about a particular risk. The rhetorical theories reviewed in this chapter can be used to reveal the ethical implications of risk and crisis discourse.
