Why is it important to study risk communication?
Studying health hazards alone is not enough. We also need to know the best ways to explain research results to the general public. To do this we need to know more about how the public perceives risks and why some hazards are feared more than others, even if they are statistically less dangerous. Scientists also need to understand the causes of unrealistic public perceptions of risk so that ways can be found to communicate them better.
