Center for Risk Perception and Communication - Center for Risk Perception and Communication - Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences - Carnegie Mellon University (original) (raw)

The main goals of the center are:

• to bring together researchers interested in studying risk perception and risk communication
• to establish a common framework within which these researchers can communicate and collaborate, and
• to bring our collective expertise to a diverse set of risk-related projects.

A common approach shared by much of the research done at this center is the mental models methodology, which facilitates the integration of relevant information into a coherent "expert" model, and provides a robust procedure for the measurement of lay perceptions and the development and evaluation of communications.

Rather than taking a prescriptive approach to communication, the research associated with this center adopts a non-persuasive philosophy. The goal of communication from this approach is to help the target audience better understand the domain in which their decision will take place, so that they are better able to make smart, informed decisions in their own best interest.