Communication and interpretation of risk

The 'new genetics' enables people's risk status for many diseases and disorders to be assessed much more accurately than before, yet considerable uncertainty remains over how risk information will be evaluated and acted upon. This paper summarises some of the main themes of psychological research on risk. Risk is traditionally defined in terms of probability. However, people often have difficulty in processing statistical information and may rely instead on simplified decision rules. Decision making under risk is also critically affected by people's subjective assessments of benefits and costs. In the field of genetic risk, such assessments may vary greatly between individuals, reflecting personal and cultural preferences and ethical concerns. The goals of risk communication should, therefore, not be merely the imparting of statistical 'facts' or the reduction of anxiety, but also enabling individuals and their families to make important decisions under conditions of uncertainty.