Cognitive Versus Affective Perceptions of Risks: What Do Students Think and Feel About Their Positive and Negative Risk Taking While Studying Abroad?

Authors

  • Marie Helweg-Larsen Dickinson College
  • Stacey Bolton Tsantir DIS Study Abroad in Scandinavia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v36i3.864

Keywords:

Affective risk, cognitive risk, education abroad, positive risk, risk perception

Abstract

Research has examined how people think about their personal risks, but not how students conceptualize the risks they experience abroad. We examined how students describe their risks, how they see risk beliefs and experiences as tied to mitigation, and whether they view study abroad as a time to take (positive or negative) risks. We interviewed US-based college students (N=18) studying abroad in Denmark pre-pandemic. Themes revealed that students (1) saw study abroad as risky, (2) conceptualized their risks affectively and not cognitively, (3) described their worries (more about positive than negative risks) but rarely concrete mitigation steps, and (4) described taking some risks (more negative than positive risks) but rationalized and minimized their experiences. These results are theoretically important and practically useful because they help study abroad professionals consider ways to better prepare and support students based on an understanding of students’ own risk perspectives.

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Author Biographies

Marie Helweg-Larsen, Dickinson College

Marie Helweg-Larsen, PhD, is Professor of Psychology and the Glen E. & Mary Line Todd Chair in the Social Sciences at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. As a social psychologist, her research examines the precursors, correlates, and consequence of risk perception as well as the experience and consequences of smoking stigma. Her teaching focuses on social psychology and research methodology. She is a native Dane.

Stacey Bolton Tsantir, DIS Study Abroad in Scandinavia

Stacey Bolton Tsantir, MA, JD, is the Director of Health & Safety at DIS Study Abroad in Scandinavia. Her work focuses on student health, safety, security, thriving, and wellbeing for DIS’s approximately 5,500 students who annually study in Denmark and Sweden. In 2008, Stacey was one of the first dedicated health and safety professionals in education abroad and often consults, presents, and writes on these topics.

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Published

2024-11-22

How to Cite

Helweg-Larsen, M., & Bolton Tsantir, S. (2024). Cognitive Versus Affective Perceptions of Risks: What Do Students Think and Feel About Their Positive and Negative Risk Taking While Studying Abroad?. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 36(3), 290–313. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v36i3.864

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Research Articles