Personal health and the social psychology of risk taking

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Abstract
Those who receive health education messages about specific risks do not always respond in a ‘rational’ manner by reducing or eliminating thefr exposure to the risk. This paper explores an explanation for the apparent reluctance of people to change their behaviour in response to information about health risks. It focuses on how people interpret the health warnings and on how people perceive the risks involved. The rationality of taking risks with personal health is discussed in relation to the values and the distribution of resources in contemporary Western society. It is argued that personal health constitutes a commodity which people are willing to trade off against other benefits.

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