The feeling of risk: a review

Risk Perception and Affect

Paul Slovic, Ellen Peters

Current Directions in Psychological Science
2006 15:6
322



ABSTRACT—Humans perceive and act on risk in two fundamental ways. Risk as feelings refers to individuals' instinctive and intuitive reactions to danger. Risk as analysis
brings logic, reason, and scientific deliberation to bear on risk
management. Reliance on risk as feelings is described as "the affect
heuristic." This article traces the development of this heuristic and
discusses some of the important ways that it impacts how people
perceive and evaluate risk.