The Feeling of Risk brings together the work of Paul Slovic, one of the
world's leading analysts of risk, to describe the extension of risk
perception research into the first decade of this new century.
In this collection of important works, Paul Slovic explores the
conception of 'risk as feelings' and examines the interaction of feeling
and cognition in the perception of risk. He also examines the elements
of knowledge, cognitive skill, and communication necessary for good
decisions in the face of risk.
The first section of the book looks at the difficulty of understanding
risk without an emotional component, for example that disaster
statistics lack emotion and thus fail to convey the true meaning of
disasters and fail to motivate proper action to prevent them. The book
also highlights other important perspectives on risk arising from
cultural worldviews and concerns about specific hazards pertaining to
blood transfusion, biotechnology, prescription drugs, smoking,
terrorism, and nanotechnology.
Following on from The Perception of Risk (2000), this book presents some
of the most significant research on risk perception in recent years,
providing essential lessons for all those involved in risk perception
and communication.