Paul Slovic, a University of Oregon psychology professor studies judgment and decision processes with an emphasis on decision making under conditions of risk. He is also a founder and president of Decision Research, a non-profit research organization. He studies the factors that underlie perceptions of risk and attempts to assess the importance of these perceptions for the management of risk in society.

In a new book, "The Feeling of Risk: New Perspectives on Risk Perception," Slovic examines a collection of work about perceptions and decisions made when faced with risk. One chapter includes information about a 2004 study by William J. Burns and Slovic about the public response to a terrorist strike.

A group of university students in the San Diego area were surveyed about 16 scenarios including intentional and unintentional incidents including bomb blast, anthrax release, hazardous explosion and infectious disease. Findings suggest the threat of terrorism is higher in the public's mind than comparable unintentional accidents.

From a Fall 2008 story in CAScade magazine:

"As society's values, attitudes and perceptions of risk transform over time, Slovic evaluates the links between the ways risks are interpreted and the ways they are acted upon. Take terrorism for instance. "It's not that terrorism is new," Slovic said, "but it's new on our radar screen." Due to increased fears of terrorism, the U.S. government has spent billions of dollars to reduce the perceived risk of another attack, even though the damage done by terrorism is relatively small compared to the damage done by disease and other hazards."

For media seeking information about how the public reacts to terrorism or attempted terrorism, such as the Nov. 26 failed bomb attempt in Portland, Ore., Slovic can be available for print or broadcast interviews.

Paul Slovic
Professor, Social, Cognitive Psychology
541-485-2400 or pslovic@uoregon.edu