Author's Self-Rating: V-T-BB

Bruce Schneier (click HERE) does a good job of summarizing the research that's been done on human behavior related to risks involved in gains vs. losses.

The bottom line is that it's in our nature to choose a small, sure gain over a larger probable gain; but it's also in our nature to choose a larger, probable loss over a smaller, sure loss.

This is not intuitive, and it forces us to factor the losses into a larger guaranteed gain (think seat belts built into a car that has a guaranteed value as a transportation mode); or to use fear as a way of getting people to act to avoid a probable event, often with exaggerated expected impacts for not acting.

It doesn't provide a clear-cut answer, but it helps in understanding the problem.