Chapter 1-7 Review: Risk Perception, Global Trends, and Life Expectancy

Vocabulary flashcards covering topics on the fear instinct, conflict trends, public safety, global risk perception, and comparative life expectancy statistics between the US and the UK.

Fear Instinct

The psychological tendency to interpret the world through what one is afraid of rather than reality, leading to a distorted view of true risks.

Danger

The actual level of objective risk in a situation, which is distinct from fear.

Bueno de Mesquita's Theory on Democracy and Safety

The political science argument that democracies experience fewer natural disaster deaths because leaders must prioritize public safety and infrastructure to stay in office.

2011 Japan Tsunami Nuclear Panic

An incident where over 1,000 people died not from radiation exposure, but from panic, stampeding, and chaotic evacuation while fleeing a nuclear reactor.

Sovereignty

A political science term defined as authority over a particular piece of land.

United Nations Charter Impact on War

A system developed post-WWII to outlaw formal empire, enforce respect for state borders, and raise the costs of state invasion, making conquest significantly harder.

Civil Wars

Conflicts occurring within states, which have increased relative to interstate wars because fixed global borders make legal state breakaway extremely difficult.

Rachel Carson

The author of the 1940s book Silent Spring who raised public alarm about the untested environmental damages of pesticides like DDT.

Silent Spring

An early environmental book by Rachel Carson arguing that unchecked pesticide use could destroy ecosystems and cause severe environmental damage.

DDT

A highly effective pesticide against malaria-carrying mosquitoes that remains unused by international aid groups due to persistent public panic, despite modern testing proving its safety.

US vs. UK Life Expectancy Gap (2023)

A difference where UK life expectancy reached $81.2\text{ years}$ compared to the US at $78.6\text{ years}$, despite both nations having identical life expectancies in 1984.

US Mortality Drivers Before Age 50

Key factors contributing to higher early mortality in the US compared to the UK, including firearm deaths, drug overdoses (opioid crisis), car crash fatalities, and lack of preventative healthcare.