This paper proposes a new way of differentiating among risks. We assume that an important factor in risk perception is whether people perceive risk taking as a pleasure or as a necessity to reach a goal. Two studies are presented. Study 1 examines whether different risks can be divided into two categories: the category of instrumental risks (risk-as-necessity), and the category of stimulating risks (risk-as-pleasure). The results of this study indeed show that risk can be divided into two categories: 1) stimulating risks (e.g., bungee-jumping), and 2) instrumental risks (e.g., taking a bank-loan). Study 2 tests whether the perception of instrumental risk is more rational (probability as a basis for risk estimation) and the perception of stimulating risk is more emotional (fear as a basis for risk estimation). The main effects of the analysis of variance as well as post-hoc tests confirm this assumption.
The aim of this paper is to clarify: the nature of the performed activities related to health care during aging, particularly in middle and later adulthood, and senior age and to clarify the correlation between health care and the perception of risk (harm) factors such as alcohol use, drug or internet use. The sample consists of 302 respondents at the age between 35 and 80 years (M = 58.56, SD = 13.82). For data collection Performed self-care actions (Lovaš, Hricová, 2015) and Risk perception questionnaire (Lovaš, Mésznerová, 2014) are used. It is shown that in the middle adulthood the most frequent strategy is the health care of one´s psychological wellbeing. On the contrary, in the senior age, preferred activities are associated with the health preservation and health problems prevention. Development trend that lies in the decreasing character of performed self-care activities in the area of physical wellbeing and increasing of self-care activities related with health problems is confirmed. The average values of perceived risk suggest that the period of middle age is the most sensitive to the perception of risk. The results showed further that the subjects were more concerned about their physical well-being, body and health and that the more intense substance abuse (alcohol, drugs) was perceived as threatening. Actions performed of self-care to health threats positively correlated with risk taking of soft and hard drugs. Self-care and risk avoidance can be considered a lifelong strategy that could affect the quality of aging.
In most theories of risk judgment, it is assumed that probabilities and payoffs combine multiplicatively. However, there is empirical evidence that risk judgment is better represented by an additive combination of probability and utility. So far, this additive relation has been demonstrated only for risk rates averaged over all participants. Thus, it may be argued that the observed additive combination rule is an artifact of averaging individual strategies focused either on probabilities or payoffs. In this experiment, both the average and individual risk rates were compared with prediction of the multiplicative and additive models. The additive model provides good description of actual risk rates, both for the averages and for a majority of participants individually, whereas the multiplicative model performs poorly. Moreover, the analysis of the relative importance of payoffs and probabilities in risk judgments points to individual differences in weighting both factors but does not support concerns that the additive relation between probability and amount of loss results from averaging individual strategies, in which participants pay attention to only one of these two dimension.
We examined risk perception and risk taking in decisions made by individuals working for military organizations. Our aim was to test attitudes towards risk through a questionnaire ecologically as valid as possible. The results show that individuals working for military organizations do not underplay the hazards related to their jobs, and view these risks as positive, rather than negative experiences. These exciting situations are considered to be controllable. Uncertainty and unexpectedness, on the other hand, may be a source of stress. Successful task fulfilment proved to be a prime motive: individuals identify with the expectations of the organization. Executives, unlike subordinates use analytic decision-making strategies. However, for lack of time and information, this is often not feasible, and thus recognition-primed decisions are made. Our results confirm the view that in order to examine real situations, a cognitive decision-psychological approach should be supplemented with the principles and methods of decision-making in natural contexts.
The changes in the nature of economic and social issues have renewed the attention on the role of entrepreneurship, and point to a multifaceted way of how entrepreneurship activities can mediate and foster sustainable development and social welfare. Recent research on entrepreneurship has redirected attention away from the entrepreneur as an individual with inborn personality dispositions and more towards entrepreneurship competence as a composition of skills and attitudes interacting with a range of factors affecting individual and his/her work and life circumstances. In this paper we point to the way risk perception and entrepreneurial intentions are associated with the entrepreneurial individual resources of the employed and unemployed. The main findings of the current paper were summarized separately in the context of employment and unemployment.
A quasi-experimental study was designed to examine, whether (1) perceived risk is a function of the relative frequency of bad to good outcomes and (2) individual differences in dispositional optimism influence risk perception and risk acceptance. A total of 263 undergraduate students of psychology (189 women and 74 men) participated in the study. Subgroups of high- and low optimism selected on the basis of their optimism scores were presented with 28 multi-outcome gambles and asked to rate risk separately for each gamble and next indicate, whether they would play a given gamble or not. The data indicate that: (1) risk judgments depend on the ratio of bad to good outcomes in the outcomes' distribution, (2) high- and low optimists did not differ with respect to average risk rates but in more optimistic persons decision making would be associated with more trade-offs.
In real life, benefits are positively correlated with risks. In order to achieve high benefits people have to take risks. However, people sometimes engage in risky situations for other reasons, e.g. for excitement. We call this former tendency instrumental risk taking, and the latter - stimulating risk taking. It is assumed that individual differences can be described among people in their willingness to take one kind or another kind of risk. Here, we test the idea that instrumental risk takers, who have a more analytic style of thinking, show more sensitivity towards risk perception, i.e. they recognize greater differences between certain risk levels than stimulating risk takers do, who have a less sensitive risk evaluation. These hypotheses are supported herein by the results of the following empirical study. Additionally, we discuss gender differences in the relationship between risk propensity and risk perception sensitivity.
According to health behavior theories, health behaviors are governed by intentions and health beliefs, such as risk perception, outcome expectancies, and self-efficacy beliefs. The present study deals with the role that these factors play when it comes to adopting or maintaining a healthy diet. Moreover, objective parameters, such as age, gender, body weight, blood pressure, and total cholesterol, were considered. In a sample of 1,782 men and women between 14 and 87 years of age, it was found that risk perception was more closely related to objective parameters than to social-cognitive variables and self-reported nutrition. The intention to adhere to a healthier diet served as a mediator between self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, and risk perception on the one hand, and preventive nutrition on the other. In addition, intention was specified as a moderator, making a distinction between nonintenders and intenders. It turned out that these two groups were differently motivated to eat healthy foods.
This paper considers how so-called psychometric methods devised for risk-awareness measurement in sociological and cognitive psychological researches connected primarily with health risk can be used to determine indirectly the risk behaviour behind investment decisions. The methodological efforts to measure uncertainty, which have stretched and been repeatedly renewed over centuries, tend to push decision-makers and their subjects and sociological-cum-psychological deciding process into the background. The authors have measured financial risk behaviour in the population through intensity of risk perception, using a representative sample. Groups of subjects homogenous in their risk behaviour were assembled to establish certain clear sociological determinants and parameters. Finally, the conclusions drawn about risk propensity and risk perception were compared with conclusions on risk attitude obtained by direct measurement.
What determines whether people perceive helping refugees as risky? Based on the predictions of the Cultural Theory of Risk, we experimentally investigated whether people’s perception of risk depends on their value orientations and whether presenting balanced arguments affects risk assessments. The participants (N = 1004) indicated the level of risk they see in the possibility of their country accepting refugees in the 2015 refugee crisis in Europe, as well as in a less polarizing topic of mandatory MMR vaccination for comparison. Half of the sample read balanced arguments about these topics before risk assessment and the other half did not. Contrary to our predictions, balanced arguments did not influence how people perceived risks in either domain. Rather, risk assessment was affected by their worldviews: those who held fundamentalist values and believed in a strong state, tended to see helping refugees as risky. Mandatory vaccination was threatening for those in favour of fundamentalist values, but opposed to state interventions. Moreover, the subjective feeling of being knowledgeable of the refugee crisis, regardless of the accuracy of this knowledge, increased risk perception; for vaccination, more information was associated with decreased risk. The results suggest that risk assessment is influenced by people’s worldviews and the perceived urgency of the respective issues.
According to the cultural theory of risk, people’s cultural worldviews can bias the evaluation of risks and benefits, even after reading balanced arguments on a given topic. This assumption was tested on two controversial domains, which were relatively novel for the chosen population: nanoscience and HPV vaccination. Participants (N = 339) evaluated respective risks and benefits, either without or after reading balanced arguments. Contrary to earlier findings, positive perception of nanoscience was associated with egalitarianism. Worldviews of the pro- and con advocate of nanoscience influenced risk perception among people with little prior knowledge. Assessment of risks inherent to HPV vaccination was positively associated with hierarchism among men, negatively with familiarity among women, and sensitive to the worldviews of the advocates. We provide a discussion on how evaluation of risks and benefits in novel domains is affected by a complex interplay of cultural cognition, domain familiarity, personal relevance and general risk attitudes.
Realistically, monetary policy in the contemporary economy has been facing functioning of commercial banks inconsistent with the textbook model. According to the Goodhart's law, banks have been finding out the solutions effective to protect their income notwithstanding the intentions of the monetary authority. Such motivations have also been driving the increasing involvement of the banks in the use of i.a. fixed interest rate securities in management of bank assets and liabilities. This has been contributing to unpredictability of effects of the changes of the short-term interest rate of the central bank on the financial sector and real economy.
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