Siegrist Michael, Berthold Anne
Institute for Environmental Decisions (IED), ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Risk Anal. 2025 Jun;45(6):1399-1409. doi: 10.1111/risa.17672. Epub 2024 Nov 3.
Culture can have a major impact on how we perceive different hazards. In the Romantic period, nature was described and portrayed as mysterious and benevolent. A deep connection to nature was perceived as important. We proposed that this romantic view would be positively related to people's risk perceptions of man-made hazards and, more specifically, to concerns about climate change. Further, we hypothesized that the Romantic perception of nature leads to a biased perception of natural hazards and that the moral component of action is of particular importance above and beyond the mere efficacy of the action. We conducted an online survey in Germany (N = 531), a country where Romanticism had a very widespread influence. The study shows that individuals with a Romantic view of nature perceived greater risks associated with climate change than those without such a view. In addition, those with a Romantic view of nature were more likely to support measures to reduce the risks of climate change, even when it is said that such measures are not effective. Finally, the study found a significantly higher positive correlation between Romantic views of nature and risk perceptions of man-made versus natural hazards. The results suggest that ideas developed during the Romantic era continue to influence hazard perception in Germany.
文化会对我们如何感知不同的风险产生重大影响。在浪漫主义时期，自然被描述和描绘为神秘且仁慈的。与自然的深度联系被视为至关重要。我们提出，这种浪漫主义观点会与人们对人为风险的认知呈正相关，更具体地说，与对气候变化的担忧呈正相关。此外，我们假设浪漫主义对自然的认知会导致对自然灾害的认知存在偏差，并且行动的道德成分在行动的单纯效力之上具有特别重要的意义。我们在德国开展了一项在线调查（N = 531），德国是一个浪漫主义影响非常广泛的国家。研究表明，持有浪漫主义自然观的个体比没有这种观点的个体感知到与气候变化相关的更大风险。此外，持有浪漫主义自然观的人更有可能支持降低气候变化风险的措施，即便据说此类措施并无效果。最后，研究发现浪漫主义自然观与对人为风险和自然灾害的认知之间存在显著更高的正相关。结果表明，浪漫主义时代形成的观念在德国继续影响着风险认知。
