The Importance of Worldviews in Risk Perception. Paul Slovic* and Ellen Peters*
Sjöberg's (1997) critique of cultural theory is flawed by its reliance on r2 to assess the strength of relationship between cultural worldviews and risk-perception responses. When appropriate measures of effect size are employed, relationships between worldviews and perceived risk are found to be substantial in magnitude. These findings suggest that worldviews function as orienting mechanisms, helping people navigate in a complex, uncertain, and sometimes dangerous world. In addition, they provide insight into the failure of technical information to resolve risk controversies. To the extent that our judgements and actions are influenced by such 'nontechnical' factors as worldviews, communication of technical information about risk may have little effect on public attitudes towards hazards such as nuclear power plants or nuclear-waste repositories. Our risk attitudes are part of 'who we are'. We cannot easily change these attitudes without changing some parts of our social worldviews.
*Decision Research, 1201 Oak Street, Eugene, Oregon 97401-3575.
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