Chapter preview

The chapter starts with an analysis of the scope that exists for interventions that will change risk reactions. It considers the variety of motivations that may instigate interventions and the significance of power in the way they may be structured. It proposes that it is necessary to distinguish between intervention in chronic and in acute hazardous contexts, examining the importance of the timing of the intervention. It considers the differences between attempts to influence risk reactions directly and those that work indirectly. The chapter goes on to summarise some of the most salient empirically founded conclusions that can be drawn from the research presented elsewhere in this volume. It relates these conclusions to the framework for the social psychological analysis of risk suggested in Chapter 1. It considers how these conclusions might be used for bringing about change in risk reactions. Some generic principles for the effective introduction of change are outlined. The ethical issues associated with deliberate interventions to change risk reactions are raised.