How do we deal with risks?
Dutch insurance company Achmea has awarded a € 280,000 subsidy for a PhD study on risk perception. The study will focus on the psychology behind how we deal with ascertained risks.
Dutch insurance company Achmea has awarded a € 280,000 subsidy for a PhD study on risk perception. The study will focus on the psychology behind how we deal with ascertained risks. In addition to the PhD project, Achmea is also providing € 70,000 towards a study with a more applied emphasis, which will investigate what types of people are more (or less) inclined to engage in risk-taking behaviour.‘The things that people perceive as risks tend to diverge radically from real and present risks,' says Frenk van Harreveld, who applied for the subsidy and will be supervising the PhD student. ‘People underestimate risks when they think they have a measure of control. Take something like driving a car, or standing on a kitchen stepladder. In reality these are risky behaviours, but that's not how we perceive them. Situations in which we have no control - such as a plane crash, a nuclear disaster or a terrorist attack - our brain categorises as ‘severe risks', whereas the likelihood of our ending up in any of these situations is slim to none. That erroneous assessment is influenced by another factor besides control, namely, by the vividness with which you can imagine that event taking place. You see images of a disaster on TV and so can call up a vivid picture of how terrible it is to live that experience.'
The PhD study being funded by Achmea explores the psychological and behavioural processes that arise whenever people perceive a risk as being serious. ‘We look at how people deal with risks and which strategies they use in doing so.' The idea of confidence plays a key role in this regard. Often, we approach a risk by placing our confidence in an individual or organisation. But what does this really mean - in whom or what are people trusting and how does that play into their risk perception? ‘Our focus is on the theoretical component of the study; the practical applications will be up to Achmea. At the same time, however, I look forward to the challenge of providing Achmea with recommendations.'