Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine pp 1–3Cite as

Risk Perception

Synonyms

Risk aversion; Risk taking

Definition

Risk perceptions are beliefs about potential harm or the possibility of a loss. It is a subjective judgment that people make about the characteristics and severity of a risk.

Description

The degree of risk associated with a given behavior is generally considered to represent the likelihood and, given its occurrence, the consequences of harmful effects that result from that behavior. To perceive risk includes evaluations of the probability as well as the consequences of an uncertain outcome. There are three dimensions of perceived risk – perceived likelihood (the probability that one will be harmed by the hazard), perceived susceptibility (an individual’s constitutional vulnerability to a hazard), and perceived severity (the extent of harm a hazard would cause). Risk perceptions are central to many health behavior theories. For example, models that have been developed specifically to predict health behavior such as the health belief model...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References and Further Reading

  • Ajzen, I. (1985). From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior. In J. Kuhl & J. Beckman (Eds.), Action-control: From cognition to behavior (pp. 11–39). Heidelberg: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavior change. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Epley, N., & Gilovich, T. (2006). The anchoring-and-adjustment heuristic: Why the adjustments are insufficient. Psychological Science, 17, 311–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischhoff, B., Slovic, P., Lichtenstein, S., Read, S., & Combs, B. (1978). How safe is safe enough? A psychometric study of attitudes towards technological risks and benefits. Policy Studies, 9, 127–152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischhoff, B., Slovic, P., & Lichtenstein, S. (1983). The public vs. ‘the experts’. In V. T. Covello, W. G. Flamm, J. V. Rodricks, & R. G. Tardiff (Eds.), The analysis of actual vs. perceived risks (pp. 235–249). New York: Plenum.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude and intention and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Reading: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilovich, T., Griffin, D., & Kahneman, D. (2002). Heuristics and biases -the psychology of intuitive judgment. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1973). On the psychology of prediction. Psychological Review, 80, 237–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leventhal, H., Meyer, D., & Nerenz, D. (1980). The common sense representation of illness danger. Medical Psychology, 2, 7–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plous, S. (1993). The psychology of judgment and decision making. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, R. W. (1975). A protection motivation theory of fear appeals and attitude change. Journal of Psychology, 91, 93–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenstock, I. M. (1966). Why people use health services. The Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, 44, 94–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slovic, P. (1992). Perception of risk: Reflections on the psychometric paradigm. In S. Krimsky & D. Golding (Eds.), Social theories of risk (pp. 117–152). Westport: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slovic, P. (2000). The perception of risk. Sterling: Earthscan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slovic, P., Fischhoff, B., & Lichtenstein, S. (1980). Facts and fears: Understanding perceived risk). In R. C. Schwing & W. A. Albers (Eds.), Societal risk assessment: How safe is safe enough? (pp. 181–216). New York: Plenum Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Slovic, P., Fischhoff, B., & Lichtenstein, S. (1982). Why study risk perception? Risk Analysis, 2, 83–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slovic, P., Fischhoff, B., & Lichtenstein, S. (1985). Characterizing perceived risk. In R. W. Kates, C. Hohenemser, & J. X. Kasperson (Eds.), Perilous progress: Managing the hazards of technology. Boulder: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1973). Availability: A heuristic for judging frequency and probability. Cognitive Psychology, 5, 207–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgments under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 185, 1124–1131.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wildavsky, A., & Dake, K. (1990). Theories of risk perception: Who fears what and why? American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Daedalus), 119, 41–60.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Public Health & Primary Care, Institute of Population Health, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Catherine Darker

  2. School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Anna C. Whittaker

Authors
  1. Catherine Darker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anna C. Whittaker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Catherine Darker .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc Gellman

Section Editor information

  1. School of Sport, Exercise & Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Anna C. Whittaker (previously Phillips)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Darker, C., Whittaker, A.C. (2018). Risk Perception. In: Gellman, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_866-3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_866-3

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Risk Perception
    Published:
    18 November 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_866-4

  2. Risk Perception
    Published:
    11 October 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_866-3

  3. Original

    Risk Perception
    Published:
    23 September 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_866-2

Search

Navigation