Risk as necessity and risk as pleasure: The perception of instrumental and stimulating risks

• Authors: Zaleskiewicz T. , Piskorz Z.
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

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.

Keywords

EN

COGNITIVE PROCESSES; RISK PERCEPTION; RISK TAKING

Discipline

• PSYCHOLOGY: PSYCHOLOGY

• Publisher: Committee for Psychological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Polish Psychological Bulletin
• Year: 2007
• Volume: 38
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 206-216
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Zaleskiewicz T.

author

Piskorz Z.

• T. Zaleskiewicz, for postal address contact the journal editor

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

08PLAAAA03787584