Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 19, 2026

Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods
Published on: September 19, 2012
Two Foundational Ideas of Risk-Undesirability and Unexpectedness-With Implications for Risk Science and Its
1University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway.
Abstract:
This paper contends that the concept of risk is fundamentally shaped by two distinct motivating ideas: (1) that something undesirable may occur (dominant in safety, security, and engineering contexts), and (2) that something unexpected may occur (central to many business, strategic, and decision-making domains). Any framework aspiring to generality across diverse application areas must therefore be sufficiently inclusive to accommodate both perspectives. The paper explores the ramifications of this dual conceptualization for foundational aspects of risk science-including core definitions, the scope and boundaries of the discipline-as well as for risk understanding, communication, and management.
Related Concept Videos
Uncertainty: Overview
Propagation of Uncertainty from Random Error
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast, controlled...
Unusual Results
According to the range rule of thumb, any value above or below two standard deviations, 2σ from the mean, μ is considered unusual.
Maximum unusual value = μ + 2σ
Minimum unusual value...
Propagation of Uncertainty from Systematic Error
Random Variables
Uppercase letters such as X or Y denote a random variable. Lowercase letters like x or y denote the value of a random variable. If X is a random variable, then X is written in words, and x is given as a number.
For example, let X = the...
