Therefore, we think that some risks are more terrifying than others

Why do people fear nuclear power while still smoking? Such questions started research on how humans perceive and value different types of hazards and risks.

Research on this gained momentum in the 1960s, in a way as a result of the nuclear energy debate, says Ann Enander, emeritus professor of leadership at the Swedish National Defense College and author of several books on risk psychology. and crisis.

The likelihood of it affecting you From a terrorist attack, getting cancer, or being hit during rush hour traffic may have little to do with how worried you are about it happening. We are also better at responding to sharp, clear risks than slow creeping threats.

– In everyday life, we are quite good at beating ourselves up. It can be good for our mental health. But when we look at long-term risks, like climate change, and preparing for future crises, we would have to take the risks a little more. These are really big risks and things that we could influence, both as individuals and as a society, says Ann Enander.

Uncertainty can magnify fearSuch as when a new and unknown virus arrives, or when highly active nuclear waste must be stored for hundreds of thousands of years.

– An example is the risks associated with very strong images and toxic risks. Take Novitjok’s poison attack in Salisbury. Most people probably didn’t think they themselves would be affected, but the uncertainty when they didn’t know where the poison was and causing such unpleasant associations scared people, says Ann Enander.

Similarly, the debate over nuclear power in the 1960s was related to nuclear weapons and images of the mushroom cloud, he says.

– But radon doesn’t give such strong images at all. It feels more like something natural, coming from nature. Some risks awaken this visceral feeling in us, while other risks go unnoticed.

How much we believe That we ourselves can influence risk can also be crucial.

– When we drive a car, we can experience that we have much more control over risks than we actually have. Most people think they are better than average car drivers, says Ann Enander.

For hazards that we cannot control ourselves, such as the spread of the new coronavirus or the final disposal of nuclear waste, it is instead about trust in those who assess or control the risk.

– Do I trust the experts? Do I trust those who say that debris can remain safe here for hundreds of thousands of years? If I do, I can feel calm. Then there is control. But if I suspect that profit and profit are more important than safety, then I will be concerned.

The worst is when something uncertain, new and strange comes up that we do not understand.

– In the 1960s, nuclear energy was a type of risk that marked all these aspects: it was unknown, it was alien, it was a lack of control. But as it became more frequent and as long as nothing happened, people became less and less anxious. When an accident happens, like Chernobyl, anxiety rises again, says Ann Enander.

Sweden has had experience of many different types of risks and crises in recent decades. We have had natural disasters, such as the Gudrun storm in 2005 and the forest fire in Västmanland in 2014. We have suffered toxic emissions, such as the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident in 1986 and the Hallandsåsen poison scandal in 1997. There have been terrorist attacks, such as the Drottninggatan attack in Stockholm in 2017, and major accidents. like the collapse of Estonia in 1994 and the burning of a disco in Gothenburg in 1998. And now we, like the rest of the world, are in the middle of a pandemic.

– Sometimes the question arises: How do people react in a crisis? But different crises make different demands on us. There is a big difference between a toxic threat and a wildfire, for example. And in a pandemic we have to avoid each other, but in a natural event we go together: you flow and you help, says Ann Enander.

Who are we ourselves it also determines how we perceive risks. Gender, age, marital status, place of residence, type of residence, ethnicity, occupation and whether or not we have children affects. On average, women are more concerned about risks than men, especially personal risks, and they are also more insecure about their own knowledge of how risks should be managed. Older people are more likely to perceive risks as serious than younger people, but at the same time they see themselves more informed about risks in everyday life.

– Studies also show that risk assessment reflects vulnerability and privilege in society. People in a more vulnerable situation generally tend to rate risks as more serious than people in a more privileged situation, says Erika Wall of the Department of Health Sciences at Mid Sweden University, who researches the experiences of risk and safety at work and in everyday life.

Both men and women become more sensitive to risks when they have children.

Becoming a parent also affects.

– Both men and women become more sensitive to risks when they have children, says Erika Wall.

Even what we understand by risk It varies, if we are afraid of being affected by ourselves or if we see it as a threat to society in general. During March and April, Erika Wall conducted in-depth interviews with healthcare personnel in different parts of the country, and she also saw the difference there.

– Some say “I am afraid of getting sick when I work with these patients”, while others say “I am afraid of working with patients because I can spread the infection more”. They weren’t thinking about their own situation, but they always had a social perspective, he says.

She hasn’t clearly analyzed her data yet, but she can already see a difference between waiting for a crisis that’s on its way and being in the middle of it.

– Those who worked in businesses where infection was expected to come soon rated the risk of spreading infection and disease as high.

They were also worried due to lack of resources and management of protective equipment and the like. Those who worked in intensive care with the sickest patients, on the other hand, were calmer.

– It was not many days before he found himself in a new daily life: we know it with the protective equipment. We work according to the guidelines. We see that this works. We have our routines in place. When you feel that you are aware of the situation, it no longer feels so serious. We see that it is a serious disease and that the spread is high, but we are managing the situation, says Erika Wall.

She emphasizes that there are no objective ways to compare different risks.

– There are no neutral risks. All risk values ​​are only values. Even if you have a mathematical formula to assess the severity of a risk, there are values ​​and assessments from someone on what parameters to use and how to use them. It’s important to remember, she says.