Dealing with Risk Why the Public & the Experts Disagree on Environmental Issues (Paper)

Howard Margolis

ISBN 10: 0226505294 / ISBN 13: 9780226505299

Published by Univ of Chicago Pr, 1997

About this Item

238 pages. 9.00x5.75x0.75 inches. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # __0226505294

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Dealing with Risk Why the Public & the Experts Disagree on Environmental Issues (Paper)
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226505294
• ISBN 13: 9780226505299
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.31 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

For decades, policymakers and analysts have been frustrated by the stubborn and often dramatic disagreement between experts and the public on acceptable levels of environmental risk. Most experts, for instance, see no severe problem in dealing with nuclear waste, given the precautions and safety levels now in place. Yet public opinion vehemently rejects this view, repudiating both the experts' analysis and the evidence.

In Dealing with Risk, Howard Margolis moves beyond the usual "rival rationalities" explanation proffered by risk analysts for the rift between expert and lay opinion. He reveals the conflicts of intuition that undergird those concerns, and proposes a new approach to the psychology of persuasion and belief. Examining the role of intuition, mental habits, and cognitive frameworks in the construction of public opinion, this compelling account bridges the public policy impasse that has plagued controversial environmental issues.

About the Author

Howard Margolis is a professor in the Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies and in the College at the University of Chicago. He is the author of Selfishness, Altruism, and Rationality and Patterns, Thinking, and Cognition, both published by the University of Chicago Press.