This study focuses on levels of concern for hurricanes among individuals living along the Gulf Coast during the quiescent two-year period following the exceptionally destructive 2005 hurricane season. A small study of risk perception and optimistic bias was conducted immediately following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Two years later, a follow-up was done in which respondents were recontacted. T...

What does the future of medicine hold? We asked six researchers to share their most ambitious and optimistic views of the future, grounded in the present but looking out a decade or more from now to consider what's possible. They paint a picture of a connected and data-driven world in which patient value, patient feedback, and patient empowerment shape a continually learning system that ensures...

Food consumption patterns are influenced by a number of factors, including social and cultural factors. It is difficult to effect dietary change, and one possible barrier to dietary change is optimistic bias. Research indicates that individuals tend to believe that they are less likely to experience negative events, and more likely to experience positive events than their peers; this phenomenon...

background several empirical studies have shown the attitude of smokers to formulate judgments based on distortion in the risk perception. this alteration is produced by the activation of the optimistic bias characterized by a set of the unrealistic beliefs compared to the outcomes of their behavior. this bias exposes individuals to adopt lifestyles potentially dangerous for their health, under...

A contract signing protocol lets two parties exchange digital signatures on a pre-agreed text. Optimistic contract signing protocols enable the signers to do so without invoking a trusted third party. However, an adjudicating third party remains available should one or both signers seek timely resolution. We analyze optimistic contract signing protocols using a game-theoretic approach and prove...