TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2016//
TI  - Lay public mental models of ionizing radiation: representations and risk perception in four European countries
JO  - Journal of radiological protection
A1  - Zeleznik, Nadja
A1  - Constantin, Marin
A1  - Schneider, Nina
A1  - Mays, Claire
A1  - Zakrzewska, Grazyna
A1  - Diaconu, Daniela
SP  - S102
EP  - S121
VL  - 36
IS  - 2
N2  - How do members of the lay public understand ionizing radiation and its effects? How do they define ionizing radiation, and to which other concepts do they connect it? Do they perceive danger and risks? Do they know how to protect themselves? What do they think of various applications of ionizing radiation? Where and how does the public lodge confidence or doubt? What is the demand for information and transparency? We applied the mental models approach to investigate these questions in four European countries (France, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia; 63 respondents), providing a rich picture of how the lay public perceives ionizing radiation. Mental models are messy and overlapping but meaningful and useful schemas, resulting from a person's multidimensional experience and relation to the surrounding natural and social world. Collectively, members of the lay public (independently of their education or background) possess a non-negligible amount of knowledge on the topic of ionizing radiation risk, and hold strong views on related concepts. Mutual understanding between specialists and potentially affected citizens may be a critical pathway to build a shared and effective risk culture supported by accurate, two-way risk communication and inter-actor relationships.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0952-4746
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0952-4746/36/2/S102
ID  - ref1
ER  -