How do people think about risk?

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I'm looking for insight into general, often subconscious, processes that mentally healthy human beings go through in evaluating day-to-day risks. What are common pitfalls or errors? What makes some people afraid of terrorists, when they ought to focus on their risk of a heart attack?

ethics

game theory

psychology

understand

tynamite

I was in a Physics lesson and my teacher asked the whole class a question.

When you are doing something dangerous that you could die or get caught for, what factor do you use, to decide whether to do it or not?

How big the risk is - or - how likely that the undesired outcome would happen?

The class had a long think for five minutes at the start of the lesson, chatting amongst themselves.

The decision was unanimous.

Everyone chose: how likely the undesired outcome would happen.

I then thought about doing crime and being a spy. Yeah I would totally do that, if I didn't think I would get caught!