RISK HOMEOSTASIS THEORY - A STUDY OF INTRINSIC COMPENSATION

Risk homeostasis theory (RHT) suggests that changes made to the intrin sic risk of environments are negated in one of three ways: behavioural adjustments within the environment, mode migration, and avoidance of the physical risk. To date, this three-way model of RHT has little emp irical support, whilst research findings on RHT have at times been dia metrically opposed. A reconciliation of apparently opposing findings m ight be possible by suggesting that extrinsic compensation fails to re store previously existing levels of actual risk in cases where behavio ural adjustments within the environment are incapable of negating intr insic risk changes. This paper reports a study in which behavioural ad justments within the physical risk-taking environment are capable of r econciling target with actual risk. The results provide positive suppo rt for RHT in the form of overcompensation for the intrinsic risk chan ge on specific driver behaviours. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd