Browsing by Author "Bronfman, Nicolas C."

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Accounting for variation in the explanatory power of the psychometric paradigm: The effects of aggregation and focus
    (ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2007) Bronfman, Nicolas C.; Cifuentes, Luis Abdon; Dekay, Michael L.; Willis, Henry H.
    Most psychometric studies of risk perception have used data that have been averaged over participants prior to analysis. Such aggregation obscures variation among participants and inflates the magnitude of relationships between psychometric dimensions and dependent variables such as overall riskiness. However, most studies that have not averaged data over participants have also shifted the focus of analysis from differences among hazards to differences among participants. Hence, it is unclear whether observed reductions in the explanatory power of psychometric dimensions result from the change in the level of analysis or from the change in the focus of analysis. Following Willis et al.'s ( 2005) analysis of ecological risk perceptions, we unconfound these two variables in a study of risk perceptions in Santiago, Chile, although we use more traditional hazards, attributes, and statistical procedures. Results confirm that psychometric dimensions explain less variation in judgments of riskiness and acceptability at the disaggregate level than at the aggregate level. However, they also explain less variation when the focus of analysis is differences among participants rather than differences among hazards. These two effects appear to be similar in magnitude. A simple hybrid analysis economically represents variation among participants' judgments of hazards' riskiness by relating those judgments to a common set of psychometric dimensions from a traditional aggregate-level analysis.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Participant-focused analysis: explanatory power of the classic psychometric paradigm in risk perception
    (ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2008) Bronfman, Nicolas C.; Abdon Cifuentes, Luis; Vaneza Gutierrez, Virna
    Typical psychometric paradigm factors appear to have greater explanatory power for individual participants than previously envisaged. It is possible to acquire interpretable information about single participants using two factors (catastrophic potential and social and personal exposure) from aggregated participant-focused data. Our results suggest that the classical psychometric model originated by Fischhoff and Slovic in the early 1980s to explain differences among hazards may also be capable of accounting for differences among participants. While socio-demographic conditions on their own do not have substantial explanatory power, they are statistically significant and appear to dictate the position of participants within the factor space obtained using a participant-focused analysis. One of the principal criticisms of the psychometric paradigm has been its lack of interpretability when using disaggregated data, but incorporating socio-demographic variables overcomes this limitation.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    The influence of information delivery on risk ranking by lay people
    (ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2006) Gutierrez, Virna Vaneza; Cifuentes, Luis Abdon; Bronfman, Nicolas C.
    An experiment was conducted in a real environment to test how information delivery affects risk ranking. Another aim was to propose the best format for delivering information. Different people received different types of information about risks in a risk ranking exercise: Group 1 received a descriptive paragraph about the hazards (Format 1); Group 2 added a table with specific information on risk attributes (Format 2); Group 3 added information on the steps taken locally to mitigate the risks (Format 3), and Group 4 received a data table without identifying the hazard (Format 4). Agreement among subjects' rankings within a group and from group to group was used to measure the potential impact of information delivery. Average pair-wise Spearman correlation was used to compare the level of agreement within each group. Results showed greater consensus in the group using Format 4 than in Formats 1, 2, and 3, with the only significant difference between Format 4 and each one of the others. The results show that the amount of information, and the way it is delivered, may affect how lay people rank risks, but the differences are not statistically significant.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The influence of risk awareness and government trust on risk perception and preparedness for natural hazards
    (WILEY, 2023) Cisternas, Pamela C.; Cifuentes, Luis A.; Bronfman, Nicolas C.; Repetto, Paula B.
    Risk perception is considered the primary motivator for taking preparedness actions. But people with prior experience and a high-risk perception are not necessarily more prepared. This relationship is even more complex when assessing preparedness levels for hazards with different characteristics. These inconsistent findings can be explained by how preparedness has been measured and the influence of other factors, such as trust and risk awareness. Thus, the main goal of this study was to analyze the role of risk awareness and trust in authorities on risk perception and intention to prepare for natural hazards in a coastal city in Chile. A representative sample of the city of Concepcion, located in the center-south zone of Chile (n = 585), completed a survey. We measured risk awareness, risk perception, trust in authorities, and intention to prepare for two hazards: earthquakes/tsunamis and floods. Through structural equation models, we tested five hypotheses. We found that the perception of risk maintained a direct and positive influence on the intention to prepare for both hazards. The results showed that awareness and risk perception influence the intention to prepare and should be considered different concepts. Finally, trust did not significantly influence risk perception when faced with known hazards for the population. Implications for understanding the relationship between risk perception and direct experience are discussed.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Trust, acceptance and knowledge of technological and environmental hazards in Chile
    (ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2008) Bronfman, Nicolas C.; Vazquez, Esperanza Lopez; Gutierrez, Virna Vaneza; Cifuentes, Luis Abdon
    Studies over the past decade have found empirical links between trust in risk management institutions and the risk perceptions and acceptability of various individual hazards. Mostly addressing food technologies, no study to date has explored wider possible relationships among all four core variables (risk, benefit, trust and acceptability) covering a heterogeneous group of hazards. Our prime objective was to ascertain effects among social trust in regulatory entities, and the public's perceived risk, perceived benefit and the degree of acceptability towards both technological and environmental hazards. We also assess whether trust in regulatory authorities is the cause (causal model) or a consequence (associationist model) of a hazard's acceptability for a wide and heterogeneous range of hazards on all four core variables. Using a web-based survey, 539 undergraduates in Chile rated the five variables across 30 hazards. Implications for technology and environmental risk management organizations are discussed. Independent of the magnitude of the perceived risk or benefit surrounding a given hazard, or how knowledgeable the public claim to be of it, the trust sustained in regulatory institutions will either generate or be the consequence of public attitudes towards the hazard.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Understanding social acceptance of electricity generation sources
    (ELSEVIER SCI LTD, 2012) Bronfman, Nicolas C.; Jimenez, Raquel B.; Arevalo, Pilar C.; Cifuentes, Luis A.
    Social acceptability is a determinant factor in the failure or success of the government's decisions about which electricity generation sources will satisfy the growing demand for energy. The main goal of this study was to validate a causal trust-acceptability model for electricity generation sources. In the model, social acceptance of an energy source is directly caused by perceived risk and benefit and also by social trust in regulatory agencies (both directly and indirectly, through perceived risk and benefit). Results from a web-based survey of Chilean university students demonstrated that data for energy sources that are controversial in Chilean society (fossil fuels, hydro, and nuclear power) fit the hypothesized model, whereas data for non conventional renewable energy sources (solar, wind, geothermal and tidal) did not. Perceived benefit had the greatest total effect on acceptability, thus emerging as a key predictive factor of social acceptability of controversial electricity generation sources. Further implications for regulatory agencies are discussed. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.