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The risks we dread: a social circle account
Mirta Galesic1, Rocio Garcia-Retamero
1Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany. galesic@mpib-berlin.mpg.de
Plos One
|April 18, 2012
Summary
People fear risks threatening their social circle size (around 100) more than larger-scale disasters. This research explores risk perception and its connection to social environments.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Risk Perception
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Human sensitivity to threats is influenced by the potential number of fatalities.
- Typical human social circles involve around 100 individuals with whom active contact is maintained.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether people dread risks threatening their immediate social circle size (approx. 100) more than risks threatening larger numbers (e.g., 1000).
- To explore the psychological underpinnings of risk dread and its relationship to social group size.
Main Methods:
- Conducted 9 experiments with diverse risk scenarios, fear measurements, and international samples.
- Compared fear responses to risks involving 10, 100, and 1000 potential deaths.
- Assessed the median number of deaths eliciting maximum fear.
Main Results:
- Fear of risks killing 100 people was greater than for 10 deaths, but not significantly different for 100 vs. 1000 deaths.
- The median number of deaths causing maximum fear was consistently around 100.
- Findings were distinct from psychophysical numbing in altruistic contexts.
Conclusions:
- Risk dread is strongly tied to the size of an individual's immediate social circle, not necessarily larger catastrophic numbers.
- Social environments play a crucial role in shaping risk perception and emotional responses to threats.
- Understanding these social dynamics is vital for effective risk communication.
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