The Perception of Risk (The Earthscan Risk in Society Series) [Paperback]

Paul Slovic (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1853835285 | ISBN-13: 978-1853835285 | Publication Date: October 1, 2000

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.

Editorial Reviews

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 'superb...I hope Paul Slovic is already working on a sequel that will fill in the few remaining blanks in his brilliant career.' Jason Zweig, Journal of Psychology and Financial Markets, 2001. 'Superior' Torbjorn Malmfors, Amazon. 'Paul Slovic is a prolific and persuasive contributor to the literature on risk, with a well-defined perspective, which has informed an incremental and solid output of research and publication.' Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management 'Essentially academic, but very relevant for anyone interested in taking risk seriously' Long Range Planning

About the Author

Paul Slovic is President of Decision Research and Professor of Psychology at the University of Oregon.

Product Details

• Paperback: 518 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1853835285
• ISBN-13: 978-1853835285
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #525,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Risk book purchase without risk, June 22, 2001

By 

Torbjorn Malmfors (Stockholm, Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Perception of Risk (The Earthscan Risk in Society Series) (Hardcover)

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.

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2 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Information Source for Everyone, March 30, 2008

By 

Y. MORI (Kamakura, Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Perception of Risk (The Earthscan Risk in Society Series) (Paperback)

I think this book is very easy to read even for non-native people.
I am satisfied with the quality of contents.
The information of each article is very practical and useful.
Thank you so much.