McGraw Hill, 2012

Where to buy

We fear some things more than the evidence says we need to, and fear some things less than the evidence warns us we should. This book explains why, with a comprehensive description of the psychology of risk perception, the hidden factors that lead us to fear too much or too little. It offers numerous examples of The Risk Perception Gap, the danger created when our fears don't match the facts and we make choices that feel right but create additional risks. The book is not about what is really risky and what isn't. That's a subjective judgment up to each individual. But HOW RISKY IS IT, REALLY? will help you make better decisions. Understanding how we perceive risk is the first step toward making wiser and healthier choices for ourselves as individuals and for society as a whole. 

REVIEWS

The perception (and misperception) of risk has profound effects on everything from environmental policy to foreign policy, from our health and consumer decisions to our sense of security and well-being. It is a topic at the frontier of research in cognitive science, economics, and political science. This book is a clear, balanced, and lively introduction to this crucial body of knowledge.”

  Steven Pinker, Harvard College Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of How the Mind Works and The Stuff of Thought.

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It’s going to change the way people think.

Lester Brown, founder of the Worldwatch Institute, founder and president of the Earth Policy Institute, and author of Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization

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Excellent. Very comprehensive and well-written .

Paul Slovic, pioneer in the research of risk perception, professor of psychology at the University of Oregon, president of Decision Research, and author of The Perception of Risk

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Humans are not rational optimizers, and this shapes how we invest, when we cooperate, who we fall in love with. But our irrationality also shapes what things terrify us. Our problems with accurate risk assessment have serious consequences – we worry ourselves sick over trivialities, pay to protect ourselves from the wrong things, avoid something we deem risky by doing something riskier. In this clever, accessible, and surprisingly non-judgmental book, David Ropeik tackles this subject, ranging from the realms of psychology and neuroscience, to funny, winning self-reflection. It is both a field monograph about the foibles of one species as well as a self-help manual. Read this book, think about it, and you will be both safer and saner.

Robert Sapolsky, Professor of Biological Sciences, and Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford, and author of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers and Monkeyluv

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Remarkably wide-ranging, practical, and devoid of emotion, this book offers honest, informed judgments. This book is your guide to avoiding misplaced anxiety and to focusing on hazards that do pose a threat.

Harvey Fineberg, President, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences