02: Risk perceptions. Renn 2008

Question 1

Risk perceptions =

Factor in…

Shaped by…

Answer 1

= internal images of risk

…factor in RM decisions.

…shaped by common-sense reasoning, personal experience, social communication, culture.

Question 2

4 basic strategies of humans to imminent threats:

Answer 2

fight
flight
play dead
explore

Question 3

(Later developed)
qualitative evaluation characteristics =

Examples:

Answer 3

= cultural patterns / criteria

• Risk (source) related, e.g. Perceived dread of car VS plane crash
• Situation-related, eg control of eating junk food VS eating OGMs

Question 4

Semantic risk patterns =

List of 4 (5):

Answer 4

= categories of risk perception, like drawers of a mental filing cabinet

• immediate threat e.g. nuclear meltdown
• stroke of fate e.g. earthquake
• gamble e.g. financial
• insidious danger e.g. food additives
• (challenge to own strength e.g. Sport)

Question 5

Dread causes…

can initiate…

Answer 5

…stigmatisation

…can initiate cycle of social amplification of risk perception

Question 6

Problems w risk perception:

Answer 6

• difficult to process low probabilities (useful at all to know them?)
• availability effect < experience
• anchoring effect < association
• temporal distribution: spread out accepted more than concentrated
• assessment bias: high uncertainty > estimate risk towards the median

Question 7

Main factors in RPerc

Answer 7

• semantic risk patterns
• qualitative valuation characteristics
• emotions