A comparative analysis of risk perception in Hungary and the United States

Abstract

Studies of risk perception attempt to determine how people characterize and evaluate the hazards of daily life. In the present study, questionnaires that have been used to study risk perception in the United States were translated and administered in Hungary, a country with a different hazard ecology and with different social and political processes for managing risks. Although Hungarians were found to classify hazards in ways similar to Americans on qualities such as catastrophic potential, knowability, and dread, there were strong differences in the level of perceived risk. Americans saw a greater degree of risk than Hungarians for 84 out 90 hazards that were studied. There were also systematic differences between Hungarian and American respondents in the ordering of risks. The Americans were most concerned about the risks from new, high technology hazards associated with the use of radiation and chemicals. In contrast, Hungarians were relatively more concerned about common, everyday hazards such as those associated with cars, trains, electric appliances, home gas furnaces, and childbirth. The social and psychological implications of these results are discussed.