Risk perceptions are a personal judgment about how serious a risk is (Storm, 2019). These ideas are important in theories that try to explain and change how people behave, like the ones that focus on health and exercise. Usually, people tend to believe that they are less likely to have health problems compared to others, which is sometimes not realistic (Weinstein, 1980; Ferrer & Klein, 2015). For example, they may think they won’t get sick from pollution, drugs, diabetes, or cancer as much as other people (this is called unrealistic optimism).
When it comes to exercise, risk perception can be important because it can motivate people to be more active. They may feel like they are more likely to get certain diseases related to not being active, such as heart problems and obesity. However, studies have shown mixed results when it comes to how risk perception actually affects exercise behavior (Parschau et al. 2014; Schwarzer, Luszczynska, Ziegelmann, Schulz, & Lippke, 2008).
Ferrer, R., & Klein, W. M. (2015). Risk perceptions and health behavior. Current Opinion in Psychology, 5, 8589.
Parschau, L., Barz, M., Richert, J., Knoll, N., Lippke, S., & Schwarzer, R. (2014). Physical activity among adults with obesity: Testing the health action process approach. Rehabilitation Psychology, 59, 4249.
Schwarzer, R., Luszczynska, A., Ziegelmann, J. P., Schulz, U., & Lippke, S. (2008). Social-cognitive predictors of physical exercise adherence: Three longitudinal studies in rehabilita- tion. Health Psychology, 27, 5463.
Storm, V. (2019). In D. Hackfort, R. J. Schinke, & B. Strauss (Eds.), Dictionary of sport psychology: Sport, exercise, and performing arts. Academic Press.