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Risk Perception and Communication Report

   

Added on  2020-05-28

14 Pages4100 Words89 Views
Running head: RISK PERCEPTION AND COMMUNICATION Risk Perception and CommunicationName of the Student:Name of the University:Author note:

1RISK PERCEPTION AND COMMUNICATION Table of ContentsContext.......................................................................................................................................3Introduction................................................................................................................................3Many Theories and Ideas surrounding Risk and Risk Perception.............................................3Psychological and Sociological Theoretical Models in relation to Risk Perception Known asthe “Psychometric Paradigm” and “Cultural Theory”...............................................................5Risk Perception is processed from the individual’s Perspective and the influence of theirbroader Social Culture................................................................................................................6Cultural Theory as having its origins in Sociology....................................................................6Risk Perceptions of Workers......................................................................................................7Certain Risks cause heightened Reactions.................................................................................8Cognitive Dissonance Theory....................................................................................................9Several Behavioral Theories applied when looking at beliefs or behaviors in Risk Perception9Information and knowledge receive today in media and risk perception may become distortedas a result of certain issues being highlighted..........................................................................10Management health beliefs played an intergral part in Risk Perception..................................10Conclusion................................................................................................................................11References................................................................................................................................12

2RISK PERCEPTION AND COMMUNICATION Context(A Risk Perception Problem related to exposure to confined space activity inthis workplace and this risk perception can be related to Psychological and SociologicalTheories)Exposure to confined space activities, such as, manholes, boilers, sewers, pipes, utilityvaults etc in the workplace is an occupational risk and it has the potential to influencethe health of the workers. IntroductionConfined space is any place that includes any kind of vessel, container, tank,chamber, pit or any other similar kind of spaces that, by subject of its open nature, results inconditions that gives rise to accidents, injury or any other kind of harmful activities thatrequires emergency actions. Manuele (2013), have stated that exposure takes place moreregularly when the safety procedures that are required are not cohered sufficiently. Still, theydid not disagree with the fact that no matter how much careful an employee is in hisworkplace, he or she cannot avoid all the exposures. The National Institute of Health (NIH)has declared that the low levels of oxygen due to the confined spaces i.e. less than 19.6percent may cause various symptoms like rapid heart rate, rapid breathing, clumsiness,suffocation, fatigue and emotional upset. In fact, due to less oxygen collapse, coma and evendeath may also occur. The other factors are the type and extent of injuries/exposure or injuryand whether or not the individual is previously known as infected. Many Theories and Ideas surrounding Risk and Risk PerceptionThere are various theories and ideas on the subject of risk and risk perception.Understanding the risk and the way it is perceived is a very crucial step towards developingvarious programs or campaigns in order to build awareness and make the workplace or

3RISK PERCEPTION AND COMMUNICATION communities safer. According to Wilson et al. (2012), the National Safety Council has statedterm ‘risk’ is defined as the measure of severity and probability of unfavorable effects. Inother words, the term ‘risk’ is concerned with the calculation of how many times an incidentis likely to take place and given its happening and how terrible the outcomes would be.Lundgren and McMakin (2013), has discussed that the risk perception is concerned with theability to perceive risk and it is also linked with risk tolerance as well. With the same, it istied to a person’s capacity to tackle certain quantity of risk. Though these concepts areunique, they are linked as well. His research has suggested that in order to discourage therisk-taking behavior, there is a high need for programs to label both the above concept.Various research have also been done in order to explain the different factors that has animpact on a person’s judgment making process for informing his succeeding actions andinteractions. Wachinger et al. (2013), has elaborated his discussion on the factors affectingthe risk perception and tolerance. He has categorized the factors as three levels- macro, mesoand micro. Macro level refers to those factors that are institutional or structural in nature, themeso level refers to the factors that are at the community or peer level and the micro levelrefers to the factors that are at a person’s individual level. Theories such as the Protection Motivation Theory is one of the most populartheory on the subject of risk perception. According to this theory, an individual is more likelyto shield himself when he foresees negative outcomes or consequences. He then develops adesire to avoid them. It postulates that there is core relation in between the risk perceptionand the injuries and incidents. It also posits that people seek protective action at the time theyare motivated to do so. For example, Becker, Aerts and Huitema (2014) have found thatmagnifying the elements of the risk appraisals, i.e. risk perception and risk perceivedseverity, have a collaborative positive impact on the constant changing behavior andintentions towards safety.

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