ABSTRACT
Risk perception needs to be addressed to properly understand, communicate and handle risk. Risk perception research has shown many examples of what is referred to as misjudgment of risk. To understand how people perceive risks and why there could be a difference between risk perception and professional risk judgments, it is important to understand how people think. For the nuclear industry, more knowledge about the risks would probably not change people’s risk perception very much, as it is to a large extent determined by how much we dislike this risk and weigh it relative to the industry’s benefit. The chapter provides some examples to illustrate what risk perception knowledge is about and the difference between risk perception and professional risk assessments. In risk research, there is a general understanding that trust affects how one understands and perceives risks and risk events and also risk response.
