Antinomies Of Environmental Risk Perception
Cognitive Structure And Evaluation

The field of environmental risk perception is, compared to the perception of more mundane risks such as smoking or mountain climbing, special in several respects. First of all, environmental problems are among the most urgent problems in today's world, especially if we are concerned with global risks, which will be the focus of this paper; the greenhouse effect and ozone layer depletion, for example, are among the most serious hazards for the whole globe. Second, almost everybody is part of the problem, either as a causal agent – most people contribute, for instance, to increasing air pollution by using a car and are responsible for its detrimental effects on the environment – or as a victim suffering the consequences of a polluted environment. The essential question for the social sciences as well as for political decision-makers has been how to change people's attitudes and behaviours towards more pro-environmental behaviour, e.g., towards using public transport instead of private cars or avoiding unnecessary use of toxic chemicals.