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Judged Terror Risk and Proximity to the World Trade Center

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Abstract

In November 2001, a nationally representative sample of Americans (N = 973, ages 13–88), queried via WebTVs at home, judged the probability of five terror-related events (e.g., being injured in an attack) and three “routine” risks (e.g., being a victim of other violent crime), in the following 12 months. Judgments of terror risks, but not routine risks, were related to whether respondents were within 100 mi of the World Trade Center. This relationship was found only in the following demographic groups, and not their complements: men, adults, whites, and Republicans. These differential responses to risk have both theoretical and policy implications.

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Fischhoff, B., Gonzalez, R.M., Small, D.A. et al. Judged Terror Risk and Proximity to the World Trade Center. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 26, 137–151 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024163023174

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