The socially vulnerable view the world as more risky

Men, on average, see less risk than women in just about everything, from not wearing a seat belt to nuclear power, according to several large national surveys. But it's a small subset of the men surveyed--30 percent--who drive this trend: They find virtually no risk in anything, says University of Oregon psychologist Paul Slovic, PhD, who conducted the surveys with his colleagues.

The majority of men, in fact, believe the world is as risky as women do. And, virtually all men of color view risks as equally high as their female counterparts, the surveys find.

"It appears that white men are causing the gender effect and that a subset of 30 percent [of them] are really driving the effect," says Slovic, director of decision research in Eugene, Ore.

When Slovic's research team looked to see what distinguished these men from everyone else, they found that the most significant difference was in their social and political attitudes. They tended to be highly authoritarian, anti-egalitarian and they trusted experts.

They also found that the gender difference is highly correlated to people's identification with the phrase "I often feel discriminated against." People who identify with the statement have a higher perception of risk from just about everything than people who don't, Slovic and his colleagues find.

"We concluded that white males who design hazardous technologies and who tend to benefit more from them and feel more in control of their lives, see the world as less risky," says Slovic. "People in a more vulnerable position, socially and economically, see the world as more risky."

--B. Azar

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