Browsing by Author "Kasperson, Roger E."

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Open Access
Incorporating structural models into research on the social amplification of risk : implications for theory construction and decision making
(1993) Burns, William J.; Slovic, Paul; Kasperson, Roger E.; Kasperson, Jeanne X.; Renn, Ortwin; Emani, Srinivas
A comprehensive approach to managing risk must draw on both the descriptive insights of the behavioral sciences and the prescriptive clarity of the management sciences. On the descriptive side, this study develops structural models to explain how the impact upon society of an accident or other unfortunate event is influenced by the physical consequences of the event, perceived risk, media coverage, and public response. Our findings indicate that the media and public response play crucial roles in determining the impact of an unfortunate event. Public response appears to be determined by perceptions that the event was caused by managerial incompetence and is a signal of future risk. On the prescriptive side, we briefly discuss how these findings based upon structural models can be incorporated into a decision-analytic procedure known as an influence diagram.
Open Access
Radioactive wastes and the social amplification of risk
(1987) Kasperson, Roger E.; Emel, Jacque; Goble, Robert; Hohenemser, Christoph; Kasperson, Jeanne X.; Renn, Ortwin
A significant problem in radioactive waste facility siting is that apparent small risks or minor risks events produce substantial public concern and social impacts. The reasons for this difference in public health and societal impacts is not well understood. This paper explores the issues involved in the social amplification of risk, using the risk associated with site characterization as the example. Noteworthy as sources of amplification are the infomation flow associated with risks and risk events including the large volume of information, the extent of dispute, and misinformation and rumor. Such information passes through the mass media and interpersonal networks. The major mechanisms involved in risk amplifications are discussed and their likely impacts on society described.
Open Access
The social amplification of risk : a conceptual framework
(1988) Kasperson, Roger E.; Renn, Ortwin; Slovic, Paul; Brown, Halina S.; Emel, Jacque; Goble, Robert; Kasperson, Jeanne X.; Ratick, Samuel
One of the most perplexing problems in risk analysis is why some relatively minor risks or risk events, as assessed by technical experts, often elicit strong public concerns and result in substantial impacts upon society and economy. This article sets forth a conceptual framework that seeks to link systematically the technical assessment of risk with psychological, sociological, and cultural perspectives of risk perception and risk-related behavior. The main thesis is that hazards interact with psychological, social, institutional, and cultural processes in ways that may amplify or attenuate public responses to the risk or risk event. A structural description of the social amplification of risk is now possible. Amplification occurs at two stages: in the transfer of information about the risk, and in the response mechanisms of society. Signals about risk are processed by individual and social amplification stations, including the scientist who communicates the risk assessment, the news media, cultural groups, interpersonal networks, and others. Key steps of amplifications can be identified at each stage. The amplified risk leads to behavioral responses, which, in turn, result in secondary impacts. Models are presented that portray the elements and linkages in the proposed conceptual framework.
Open Access
The social amplification of risk : theoretical foundations and empirical applications
(1992) Renn, Ortwin; Burns, William J.; Kasperson, Jeanne X.; Kasperson, Roger E.; Slovic, Paul
The article presents the framework of social amplification of risk which integrates the technical assessment and the social experience of risk. Risk perception research has revealed that contextual factors shape individual risk estimations and evaluations. Identification of these factors, such as voluntariness, personal ability to influence risks, familiarity with the hazard, and catastrophic potential, provides useful information about the elements that individuals consider in constructing their interpretation of risks. In addition, analyses of people's heuristics in making inferences have shed some light on how risk information is generalized and evaluated intuitively. These psychological studies fail to explain, however, why individuals attend to certain characteristics of risks and ignore others. Furthermore, in focusing only on the individual as an information processor, these studies exclude from the analysis the social and cultural variance of risk interpretations. The social amplification framework postulates that the social and economic impacts of an adverse event are determined not only by the direct physical consequences of the event, but by the interaction of psychological, cultural, social, and institutional processes that amplify or attenuate public experience of risk and result in secondary impacts.
Open Access
Social amplification of risk: the media and public response
(1989) Kasperson, Roger E.; Renn, Ortwin; Slovic, Paul; Kasperson, Jeanne X.; Emani, Srinivas
The risk associated with radioactive and other hazardous waste disposal may be expected to interact with societal processes to enlarge or attenuate the consequences of risks and events. Using a data base of 128 hazard events that have ocurred largely over the past ten years, the authors examine the role of physical consequences, media coverage, and public perceptions of risks in generating social and economic impacts. The analysis concludes that social amplification processes substantially shape the nature and magnitude of those impacts but also that such social amplification appears to be systematically relate to characteristics of the risks and risk events.