Elderly Consumers' Perceptions of Market Risk

Empirical research has not addressed the manner in which elderly consumers combine their assessments of the probabil- ity and consequences of loss when deriving overall estimates of ac- tual marketplace risk. Prospect theory is utilized to support a prod- uct classification scheme which transposes the levels of the probability and consequences of loss. A proposition that elderly con- sumers will weigh the probabilities of loss more heavily in a High- Probability/Low-Consequences situation is supported; the proposi- tion that consequences will be judged more important in a Low-ProbabilityMigh Consequences product setting is not. Promo- tional implications are developed.