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RISK DOES NOT EQUAL. HAZARD X EXPOSURE. Risk = Hazard X Exposure x PERCEPTION. “By the animal instinct that is awakened in us we are led and protected. It is not conscious; it is far quicker, much more sure, less fallible, than consciousness.” Erich Maria Remarque,
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RISK DOES NOT EQUAL HAZARD X EXPOSURE
“By the animal instinct that is awakened in us we are led and protected. It is not conscious; it is far quicker, much more sure, less fallible, than consciousness.” Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front RISK PERCEPTION
1. TRUST • The more we trust, the less afraid we will be. • The less we trust, the more afraid we will be.
1. TRUST (More Afraid) • Anything connected with industry • Communications from politicians • A decision making process that’s closed (Less Afraid) • Anything connected with consumer groups • Communications from neutral experts (doctors, academics) • A decision making process that’s open
1. TRUST • In the communicator • In the agency that’s supposed to protect you • In the organization creating the risk • In the process
2. BENEFIT v. HARM • Vaccinations • Using a cell phone while you drive • Medical X rays, prescription drugs • That “nice healthy” tan
3. CONTROL (More Afraid) • Flying • Riding as a passenger in the front seat of a motor vehicle • A government process in which you can NOT participate (Less Afraid) • Riding a bike • Driving a motor vehicle • A government process in which you CAN participate
4. CHOICE (More Afraid) • A drug with a side effect NOT reported by the company • A nuclear waste repository a company proposes to build in your town (Less Afraid) • A drug with a side effect that IS reported by the company • INVITING the nuclear waste repository to locate in your town
5. NATURAL V. HUMAN-MADE (More Afraid) • Industrial chemicals • Technologies (cell phones, GM food, nuclear power) • Prescription drugs (Less Afraid) • Organic food • Herbal remedies
6. DREAD (More Afraid) • Plane crash • Anything associated with radiation (cancer) • Pesticides (cancer) (Less Afraid) • Heart disease • Accidents
7. CATASTROPHIC orCHRONIC (More Afraid) • Terrorism • Plane crashes (Less Afraid) • Heart disease, stroke, infectious diseases • Motor vehicle crashes
8. UNCERTAINTY(When we don’t have all the answers, or they’re hard to understand.) (More Afraid) • Terrorism • New technologies • Radiation, chemical products (Less Afraid) • Artificial Sweeteners • Microwave ovens • Electrical and magnetic fields
9. ME OR THEM(Personal vs. Statistical) • Terrorism in “The HoMEland” after September 11, 2001 • Mad Cow disease in Washington State, where the first infected cow in the U.S. was found, versus Washington D.C.
10. FAMILIAR V. NEW (More Afraid) • West Nile Virus when it first arrived in U.S. cities • Mad Cow disease in the U.K. in the 90’s • SARS - 2002 (Less Afraid) • West Nile Virus those cities now • Mad Cow disease in England now • Influenza - 2002
11. CHILDREN • Vaccinations • Mercury • Abduction • Pesticides
12. EQUITY (More Afraid) • Risks to the sick, the handicapped, the poor • Victims of risk who get none of the benefits (Less Afraid) • Risks to the healthy, the able-bodied, the rich • People who get some of the benefits along with the risk
13. AWARENESS (More Afraid) • Terrorism • Cell phones and driving (Less Afraid) • Indoor air pollution • Heart disease