Cognitive biases, cognitive limits, and risk communication

How should marketers communicate risk information? In discussing this question, the author begins with basic economic theory and expected utility theory. He then discusses the limitations that result from misestimation of probability, the need to deal with many risks at once, and the existence of individual differences in risk preference. He reviews the problem of cognitive biases, such as the tendency to favor harms of omission over harms of direct action, and concludes with suggestions for the design of risk communication that take into account these factors.