15 checked facts

Risk

Everything on this site about risk — each one naming the study behind it.

You believe bad things only happen to others.
You consistently underestimate the probability that you will experience negative life events.…
You gauge risk by the news, not logic.
You estimate the probability of events based on how easily examples arise.…
Your feelings dictate your risk assessment before logic starts.
The affect heuristic is the process of using current emotions to make rapid decisions instead of evaluating complex da…
You believe you are safer than the average person.
Optimism bias is the tendency to rate your own risk of negative life events as significantly lower than that of your p…
You believe common causes of death are much rarer.
People consistently overestimate the frequency of dramatic deaths like shark attacks while underestimating common, qui…
You become less careful when you feel safer.
Peltzman's 1975 study argued that mandatory automobile safety regulations did not lead to the predicted decrease in ag…
You feel more capable when you believe you have control.
A 1975 study demonstrated that people were less likely to sell a lottery ticket if they were the ones who had chosen t…
You believe you are safer than the average person.
A 1980 study found that most adults rate their personal risk of accidents as significantly lower than their peers.…
You choose a known risk over an unknown one.
The Ellsberg Paradox shows that people prefer gambles with known odds over gambles where the probability is unknown.…
You over-allocate resources to eliminate a minor, symbolic risk.
The zero-risk bias leads people to prefer the complete elimination of a small risk over a greater total reduction in r…
You make decisions based on the most easily recalled examples.
The availability heuristic leads you to judge the probability of events based on how easily specific instances come to…
You judge how likely something is by your memory.
The ease with which examples come to mind determines your probability assessment.…
You assume you are safer than everyone else.
A 1980 study by Neil D. Weinstein published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that individuals…
You avoid the unknown even when it offers rewards.
Ambiguity aversion describes the tendency to prefer options with known probabilities over options with unknown probabi…
You fear risk more when the outlook is positive.
People show a strong preference for certainty when a positive outcome is likely, even when a riskier option offers a h…