Public Perceptions of the Risks and Benefits of Technology

An attempt is made to verify & extend previous research on people's perceptions of the risks & benefits of technology & their judgments concerning the acceptability of technology safety regulations based on interview data collected from residents (total N = 1,021) of Ariz & Conn. Data on "expressed preference" were collected from a large, representative sample of Americans using an expanded set of independent variables, including three qualitative benefit characteristics; person, rather than technology, was the unit of statistical analysis. The results indicate that members of the public tend to define risks, benefits, & acceptability in a complex, multidimensional manner, & their definitions differ significantly from those used by professional risk managers & other technical experts. Results also indicate that people's stances toward technology regulation tend to cut across traditional sociodemographic lines. 9 Tables, 36 References. Modified AA