Outrage factor

Outrage factor

In public policy, the outrage factor is the portion of public opposition to a policy which does not derive from knowledge of the technical details. While policy analysis by institutional stakeholders may focus on risk-benefit analysis and cost-benefit analysis, popular risk perception is not informed by the same concerns, and so the successful implementation of a policy relying on public support and cooperation will need to address the outrage factor when informing the public about the policy.

Contents

Factors

The term "outrage factor" originates from Peter Sandman's 1993 book, Responding to community outrage: strategies for effective risk communication.[1][2] He gives the formula:[3]

Risk = Hazard + Outrage

Sandman enumerates several sources of outrage:

Voluntary vs. coerced
People may object to something compulsory which is less dangerous than something else that they do by choice, such as a dangerous sport. [4]
Natural vs. industrial
A human-made source of risk provides someone to blame for the risk; household radon is less publicly feared than less carcinogenic artificial sources.[5]
Familiar vs. exotic
[6]
Memorable or not
Memorableness may derive from personal experience, news reports, fiction, or iconic images or symbols.[7]
Dreaded or not
Disgust can exaggerate perceived risk[8]
Chronic vs. catastrophic
people may worry more about continual leakage from a chemical plant than the risk of an explosion[9]
Knowable or not
people take a worst-case approach to uncertainty[10]
Controlled by me vs. others
[11]
Fair or not
[12]
Morally relevant or not
[13]
Can I trust you or not
[14]
Is the process responsive or not
[15]

Issues

The relevance of public outrage has been acknowledged in discussions of various policy debates, including nuclear safety,[16] terrorism,[17] public health,[18][19] and environmental management.[1][2]

Addressing outrage

The mass media often frame policy debate by focusing on outrage factors. For proponents of a policy trying to address outrage, Sandman recommends acknowledging and empathising with the underlying sentiment.

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b Nebel, Bernard J.; Richard T. Wright (1993). Environmental science: the way the world works (4th ed.). Prentice Hall PTR. pp. 392–3. ISBN 0132854465. http://books.google.com/books?id=4wjxeUeaRnMC&lpg=PA393&dq=%22OUTRAGE%20FACTOR%22&pg=PA393#v=onepage&q=%22OUTRAGE%20FACTOR%22&f=false. 
  2. ^ a b Hird, John A. (1994). Superfund: the political economy of environmental risk. JHU Press. p. 70. ISBN 0801848075. http://books.google.com/books?id=fsTBXJPVmzgC&lpg=PA70&dq=%22OUTRAGE%20FACTOR%22&pg=PA70#v=onepage&q=%22OUTRAGE%20FACTOR%22&f=false. 
  3. ^ Sandman, p.1
  4. ^ Sandman, pp.14–17
  5. ^ Sandman, pp.17–19
  6. ^ Sandman, pp.19–23
  7. ^ Sandman, pp.23–27
  8. ^ Sandman, pp.27–29
  9. ^ Sandman, pp.29–33
  10. ^ Sandman, pp.33–37
  11. ^ Sandman, pp.37–41
  12. ^ Sandman, pp.41–44
  13. ^ Sandman, pp.44–49
  14. ^ Sandman, pp.49–62
  15. ^ Sandman, pp.62–73
  16. ^ Williams, David R. (1998). What is safe?: the risks of living in a nuclear age. Royal Society of Chemistry. p. 39. ISBN 0854045694. http://books.google.com/books?id=kDIdiej7CEIC&lpg=PA39&dq=%22OUTRAGE%20FACTOR%22&pg=PA39#v=onepage&q=%22OUTRAGE%20FACTOR%22&f=false. 
  17. ^ Kayyem, Juliette N.; Robyn L. Pangi (2003). First to arrive: state and local responses to terrorism. BCSIA studies in international security. MIT Press. p. 68. ISBN 0262611953. http://books.google.com/books?id=FHEzLB5dGfQC&lpg=PA68&dq=%22OUTRAGE%20FACTOR%22&pg=PA68#v=onepage&q=%22OUTRAGE%20FACTOR%22&f=false. 
  18. ^ Milloy, Steven J. (1995). Science without sense: the risky business of public health research. Cato Institute. p. 8. ISBN 1882577345. http://books.google.com/books?id=rpZKyRI7hocC&lpg=PA8&dq=%22OUTRAGE%20FACTOR%22&pg=PA8#v=onepage&q=%22OUTRAGE%20FACTOR%22&f=false. 
  19. ^ David, Pencheon; David Melzer, Charles Guest, Muir Gray (2006). Oxford handbook of public health practice. Oxford handbooks (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 221. ISBN 0198566557. http://books.google.com/books?id=cYnzLTV7aVEC&lpg=PA221&dq=%22OUTRAGE%20FACTOR%22&pg=PA221#v=onepage&q=%22OUTRAGE%20FACTOR%22&f=false. 

See also


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