Product Description

The concept of risk is an outgrowth of our society's great concern about coping with the dangers of modern life. "The Perception of Risk" brings together the work of Paul Slovic, one of the world's leading analysts of risk, risk perception and risk management, to examine the gap between expert views of risk and public perceptions. Ordered chronologically, it allows the reader to see the evolution of our understanding of such perceptions, from early studies identifying public misconceptions of risk to recent work that recognizes the importance and legitimacy of equity, trust, power and other value-laden issues underlying public concern.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #171853 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 518 pages

Review
'An illuminating and important book [that] covers a great deal of ground.' Harvard Law Review. 'Slovic brings fresh insights on how others think of 'risk'. Risk Management Reports 'An invaluable collection of articles for those seeking an in-depth analysis of risk perceptions.' Food, Nutrition and Agriculture 'Everyone, whether a fan of the (extended) psychometric paradigm or not, will like to have in its own library this book as a handy reference.' Journal of Socio-Economics

Book Info
(Earthscan) Describes the gap between expert views and public perception of risk. Offers new methods of risk perception, and the implications for regulation and public policy are discussed. Topics covered include: societal risk taking, rating risks, facts and fears, perceived risk, and intuitive toxicology. Softcover, hardcover also available.

From the Publisher
‘This comprehensive guide - perhaps the first of its kind - is for anyone with an interest in the public perception of risk, including policy maker, business, and academics in various fields including economics, public health and the environment.’
WARMER BULLETIN - Journal For Sustainable Waste Management

Customer Reviews

Risk book purchase without risk
How often have I wished I had the publications of particularly productive scientists bound together in one document. Despite modern IT-technique, which increases the availability of such publications, an appropriate book is still superior. Now there is such a book for those who are interested in risk from a psychological point of view. Its title is: "The Perception of Risk" and it contains 26 of the most important publications by Paul Slovic from the last 25 years. It starts with an introduction in which Paul summarizes and gives his perspectives on his papers.

No one who has come across the term risk perception can have missed Paul Slovic's name. As one of the leading scientists in the field of risk perception, Paul has covered large areas and tackled various problems in order to show how we view, react to, and handle situations and problems related to what we in common language call risk.

To call him one of the founders of the psychometric paradigm is too plain a characterization of the scientific contribution of Paul Slovic. The psychometric methodology is just the means he has used to study how human beings perceive, judge and make decisions about risk in various situations. He has introduced psychological aspects of risk into natural sciences, where risk earlier has been considered as a numerical and objectively assessable quantity. Now physicists, chemists, and even engineers realize that risk perception cannot be ignored and is influenced by many factors (e.g. voluntariness, familiarity, dread, equity) relating to risk and how risk is described. For those who want to make risk comparisons, inform people about risks or do anything else regarding risk, it is necessary to be familiar with risk perception.

With his great openness, Paul has been able to collaborate with scientists from many different areas, both scientifically and geographically. In this way he has improved and enriched his work with practical aspects in many domains, particularly radioactivity and use of chemicals. Therefore it possible for most scientists to find in this book interesting reading related to their own problems. The book only contains about an eighth (but a representative sample) of Paul's total scientific production. As the papers are ordered chronologically, it is easy to follow the development in time of different ideas and conclusions and to see how later studies derive from earlier ones in a logical way. Thus, in the two last chapters of the book, the ideas and views on risk are further expanded and offer exciting vistas for the future. In the same way as many of Paul's earlier ideas have been accepted and continued by later researchers, his recent views about "the affect heuristic" most certainly will be the subject for many future scientific publications.

t.malmfors@chello.se