The role of behavioral experience in judging risks

This study used conditional risk assessments to examine the role of behavio ral experiences in risk judgments. Adolescents and young adults (ages 10-30 ; N = 577) were surveyed on their risk judgments for natural hazards and be havior-linked risks, including their personal experiences with these events . Results indicated that participants who had experienced a natural disaste r or engaged in a particular risk behavior estimated their chance of experi encing a negative outcome resulting from that event or behavior as less lik ely than individuals without such experience. These findings challenge the notion that risk judgments motivate behavior and instead suggest that risk judgments may be reflective of behavioral experiences. The results have imp lications for health education and risk communication.