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Sandman notes that the reaction to things that scare people and the things that kill people are often inversely proportional to the actual hazard. He has identified 20 “outrage factors.”

Exercise: Ask participants to think of examples of outrage factors: e.g.,

Voluntary: sky diving
Involuntary: pushed from a plane

Natural: earth quake
Manmade: plant explosion

Familiar: radon in basement
Exotic: Trichloroethane in water

Memorable:Aljar apples (media)
Not memorable: no symbolism;no visual
images (little media attention)

Dreaded: cancer,
Not dreaded: water

Chronic: fatalities and injuries scattered and
random (auto fatalities)
Catastrophic: plane crash

See publications on risk communication for detailed explanation. Examples: Improving dialog with communities: A Short guide for government risk communication by Caron Chess, Billie Jo Hance and Peter M. Sandman, 1988. Available from Rutgers Center for Environmental Communication.

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