Abstract
The human brain is a computer, built to process information about the environment and to judge which is most likely to be successful from a large number of possible courses of outcome. In a complex environment, decision making at high speed is going to be one of the necessary requirements of any animal if it is to survive and prosper. Some animals, of course, protect themselves from having to make too many momentous decisions by covering themselves with a thick armor so that the world can change around them while they plod on unheedingly. Man is the greatest risk taker of them all. Human beings even have the extraordinary capacity for enjoying danger. People like to take ride on roller coasters, to drive fast cars, to engage in highly competitive sports, and of course, they also like such intellectually risky practices as gambling. There is no person on earth who cannot take a risk and who does not enjoy it at least to some degree. Life presents us with risks every day: take too many and you are in trouble, take none and you will stagnate. Risk refers to the probability or outcomes which are measurable in a quantitative manner. Risk is a combination of the probability, or frequency, of occurrence of a defined hazard. Risk is defined as the ‘possible loss of something of value’. Risk is the probability of an event combined with the magnitude of losses and gains that it will entail. Risk is that which allows for a number of possible outcomes, not all of which are bad. In this complex world, each one of us is exposed to a lot of risky moments. It is the need of the hour to understand the risk involved in our surroundings and its influence on us. The vital question in this connection is “How much of a risk taker are we?” This study has the social objective of identifying the extent of risk as perceived by individuals having different roles in society.
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