Dan M. Kahan, Psychology and Law, Yale Law School

Prof. Dan Kahan here talks about his work in climate risk perception.

0:13: How important is it for us to define risk?
1:32: Do you think it makes sense to say that some people tend to overestimate, while others tend to underestimate, risks?
4:25: Do you agree that it makes sense to say that some behaviors are riskier than others?
6:03: How has your research on risk perception been taken up by the policy community?
10:11: Are you skeptical about risk?
14:43: Can risk communication motivate people to act?
17:09: What are some of your most exciting findings?
22:50: How can we make sense of climate risks in the context of public policy making?
24:14: Does it make sense to talk about acceptable levels of risk if people aren’t well equipped to make decisions about what is acceptable?
27:59: Do you see evidence of big differences in risk perception between political elites – not science elites – but political elites and average voters?
30:34: So are you suggesting that risk orientations are more about values orientations than about uncertainties and probabilities?
36:34: Do you think we would end up with different outcomes if we made risk decisions at an elite level as opposed to making them at a citizen level?
38:33: Any important takeaways?