Women's Decision-Making And Factors Affecting Their Choice Of ...

need to understand the basis of the beliefs of their patients (Sjoberg 1980). It is
therefore important to understand what each individual perceives to be safe or
risky. The point is that not only do lay people differ in their perception of risk
compared to experts, but people exposed to the same extent of risk from a
particular danger may well differ in terms of their reaction to that risk (Douglas
and Wildavsky 1982; Johnson and Covello 1987). For some, the risk may be
unpalatable and unacceptable, as they consider it to have a great probability of
harm on them whilst for others it may be tolerable and worthwhile, because they
may consider the risk to be quite small (Palmer 1996).
Much of the original work on perception of risk comes from psychology
(Kahneman and Tversky 1984; Tversky and Kahneman 1974), economics and
business (Schwing and Albers, Jr. 1980). In the health field, the concept is new
(Kronenfeld and Glik 1991) and has been used in environmental hazards
(Crawford 1987; Johnson and Covello 1987), safety (Slovic 1978; Slovic,
Lichtenstein, and Fischhoff 1984), and AIDS (Abraham, Sheeran, Spears et al
1992; Dawson and Cynamon 1988; Richard and van der Plight 1991; Richard, van
der Plight, and de Vries 1995). Most studies in risk perception have concentrated
on the cognitive processes people employ in making decisions. As a result, there
are several approaches to the study of decision-making process, such as, the
behavioural decision theory, prospect theory, and the precaution adoption process.
Behavioural Decision Theory may be either normative or descriptive
(Slovic, Fischhoff, and Lichtenstein 1977). The normative aspect prescribes
courses of action believed to conform most closely to a rational decision-maker's
point of view. The descriptive aspect, on the other hand, describes the values,
beliefs, and the way in which they are incorporated in decision-making. Prospect
theory, also known as judgement under uncertainty (Kahneman and Tversky
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