How does our perception of risk influence decision-making? Implications for the design of risk information

Abstract

Perceptions of risk are an inherent part of the decision-making process. What is more, risk perception can be understood as an individual's assessment of risk, and the adequacy of any risk assessment is reliant on the adequacy of the accessible risk information. Consequently, one way to understand the effect of risk perception on decision-making, and the approach taken in this literature review, is to understand how risk information is communicated and received by an individual. A number of factors are identified that have been found to influence perceptions of risk, which are related to the design of risk messages: the message (colour, signal word, surround shape, and the framing effect), the source of the message (credibility and trust), and the target of the message (risk target). It is concluded that, in order to design effective risk communications, and to facilitate decision-making and safe behaviour, these factors need to be considered, in a context-dependent manner.