Theoretical Aspects of Risk Perception

Risk perception is the subjective judgment that people make about the characteristics and severity of a risk with reference to health.

Three major theories developed in its approach:-

1. Psychology approaches (heuristics and cognitive)

- heuristic means enabling a person to discover or learn something for themselves;

- this approach is related to positive and negative emotion.

2. Anthropology / sociology approaches (cultural theory)

- based on ways of life including hierarchical, individualist, egalitarian, and fatalist.

3. Interdisciplinary approaches (social amplification of risk framework)

- outlines how communication of risk events passes from the sender through intermediate stations to a receiver and in the process serves to amplify or attenuate perceptions of risk.