Perception of Risk Due to Online Hazards

Increasingly and across several disciplines, risk is viewed as an emotional and affective response to hazards, rather than as simply a function of likelihood and consequence. We study people's perception of risk due to online hazards as affect-laden judgments using the psychometric paradigm. Analysis of data collected using real life consumers suggests that people use four factors or dimensions in judging risks due to online hazards. The first dimension is named Potential Loss and is related to the magnitude of consequences and potential for delayed consequences. Loss of Control is the second dimension and loads on lack of ability to control the risk and inability to reduce risk due to an online hazard. Lack of Knowledge and Inability to Avoid the Risk are the third and fourth dimensions. We discuss implications for future research