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Methodological Approaches to Assessing Risk Perceptions Associated with Food‐Related Hazards
Author(s) -
Frewer Lynn J.,
Howard Chaya,
Hedderley Duncan,
Shepherd Richard
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
risk analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.972
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1539-6924
pISSN - 0272-4332
DOI - 10.1111/j.1539-6924.1998.tb00919.x
Subject(s) - harm , hazard , risk perception , risk analysis (engineering) , perception , preference , risk assessment , psychology , risk management , environmental health , actuarial science , applied psychology , social psychology , computer science , medicine , business , computer security , statistics , mathematics , finance , neuroscience , chemistry , organic chemistry
The psychometric approach developed by Slovic and his co‐workers has been effectively used to assess risk perceptions associated with different food‐related hazards. However, further examination (using questionnaire data and partial correlation techniques) has indicated that technological hazards are highly differentiated from lifestyle hazards, in terms of both hazard control and knowledge about the hazard. Optimistic bias was also seen to vary between hazards. Further research has focused on a particular hazard, genetic engineering. Risk perceptions associated with genetic engineering are underpinned by ethical concern and questions relating to perceived need for the technology, as well as perceptions of risk or harm. However, increasing the specificity of hazard stimuli was found to alter the factor structure of underlying risk perceptions. The utility of preference mapping procedures in determining individual differences in trust in risk regulators is also discussed.