Risk: a socio-psychological perspective

The contribution discusses the problem of risk as a component of the man’s everyday life, examines the characteristics of risk specific for the modern society. Among a number of problems studied in social psychology in relation to risk, emphasis is made on how people understand risk and how they act when facing risk in everyday life. The attention is focused on two traditions of socio-psychological research of the problems of risk. The first views risk as a cognitive reality. It was analysed within the framework of the prospect theory of Tversky and Kahneman, as well as on the example of examination of unrealistic optimism and unrealistic pessimism. Limitations of this tradition in case of study of risk are indicated. In the second case the risk is considered a sociocultural reality. The potential of the social notions theory which allows to regard risk within the framework of an explanatory scheme of a higher - societal - level, is discussed.. The prospects of risk problems research in social psychology are formulated.

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