Risk perception in the UK oil and gas production industry: Are expert loss-prevention managers' perceptions different from those of members of the public?

This article investigates potential differences in risk perception between experts (loss-prevention managers in the U.K. oil and gas production indust ry) and nonexperts (managers and students). Extant research on expert versu s nonexpert perceptions of risk is reviewed, followed by the present study concerning risk perceptions of seven pen-picture scenarios involving the oc currence of hazardous events in the U.K. oil and gas production industry. i n contrast to many of the earlier studies of expert versus nonexpert percep tions of risk, the present analysis concludes that experts did not judge th e overall riskiness of the portrayed hazardous events as less risky than th e nonexperts. Nevertheless, the experts believe more strongly than our none xperts that the risks portrayed in the scenarios pose little threat to futu re generations, are more precisely known, and are relatively controllable. Use of multiple regression analysis to help uncover the basis of overall ri skiness assessments for expert and lay respondents was inconclusive, howeve r. Finally, little evidence was found that nonexperts were any more heterog eneous in their risk perceptions than experts. It may be that the nature of the risks assessed in the present study may account for the general lack o f clear expert versus nonexpert differences in overall perceptions of the r iskiness of hazardous events in the North Sea. Earlier findings of strong e xpert versus nonexpert differences in risk perception assessed hazards of m ajor public concern. It is inferred that using such extreme hazards may hav e resulted in an exaggerated view of differences in expert versus public (n onexpert) perception of risk.