Risk perception

Conflicts on technical issues frequently involve disagreements between the public and the technologists. This paper summarizes the major characteristics of three groups of technologists and four groups of the public which lead to many of the disagreements. To advance the mores of making decisions involving complex science or technology, technologists should develop an understanding of what information is needed for decisions, of the need for two-way communication with the public, and to become responsible for the accuracy and honesty of risk communication messages