Risks and risk management occur within a rich and complex socio-cultural context, in which groups of individuals are predisposed to select, ignore and interpret risk information in different ways. This exploratory project is part of a broad program to understand the socio-cultural dynamics of risk perception, decision-making and behavior. Specifically, this research will integrate three recent research trajectories (affective imagery, cultural theory, and the "white male effect") in a systematic effort to identify, describe and explain the existence of discrete "interpretive communities of risk:" clusters of individuals who share mutually compatible risk perceptions, affective imagery, cultural worldviews, and socio-demographic characteristics. Results from this study will contribute to emerging theory on the roles of affect, symbolic meaning, cultural worldviews and socio-cultural context in risk perception and decision making.
This project is guided by the following research questions: Can we identify distinct interpretive communities of risk among the American public? If so, what are their distinguishing characteristics? Are these interpretive communities dynamic and in constant flux, or are they relatively stable, transcending particular risks? In other words, do interpretive communities that are substantially different in character form around different kinds of risks (e.g., health vs. security risks), or are there groups who consistently perceive and interpret a wide variety of risks in similar ways? Finally, why do some interpretive communities perceive particular hazards as extreme risks, while others perceive these same hazards as low or non-existent risks?
