On the issue of cultural influence on risk perception

Abstract

After an extensive review of the literature and his own empirical studies investigating the effect of culture on risk perception, Sjöberg (1998) concluded that the cultural theory simply is wrong and therefore, dead. However, other researchers and studies tend to also suggest that culture theory still has a significant explanatory power. The purpose of the study, therefore, was to gather new evidence using a different analysis technique to contribute to resolving this inconclusive conclusion. Data were gathered from 226 commercial vehicle drivers and were classified based on their transport-specific worldview or culture. A general linear model fitting using one-way ANOVA was conducted to compare the respondents on their transport-specific risk perception. Results of the cluster analysis showed that there were three clusters of drivers which were labelled as “Traditional-Conformists” (Cluster III drivers), “Adventurists” (Cluster II drivers) and “Moderates” (Cluster I). The ANOVA results further showed that Traditional-Conformist (Cluster III) drivers reported more accurate perception of risk compared to the Moderates (Cluster I) and the Adventurists (Cluster II). The findings were discussed in context of the ongoing debate about the explanatory power of culture in accounting for differences in risk perception. The implications for future research were also discussed.