Cognitive Versus Affective Perceptions of Risks: What Do Students Think and Feel About Their Positive and Negative Risk Taking While Studying Abroad?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v36i3.864Keywords:
Affective risk, cognitive risk, education abroad, positive risk, risk perceptionAbstract
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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