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In this article, the authors discuss the complex field of perception, more specifically of the perception of risk, drawing on a theoretical and methodological essay that seeks to stress the importance of risk perception in studies related to the interface environment, health and sustainability. Recognizing that social and cultural elements shape in direct and indirect ways individual's perceptions of different risks, the authors flag that studies in this field can point out specific interests, values, and points of conflicts that exist in the arenas and offer insights that would help decision makers improve their decision making processes with greater involvement of society. In addition to risk perception, the article also discusses examples of investigations conducted by the authors focusing on environmental perception. Searching for a critical perspective to cover the subject, the authors recognize the need to understand, in environmental and societal processes, the setting of socio-environmental risks and how they are perceived. Keywords: Perception; Risk; Theoretical Approaches; Methodological Possibilities; Interdisciplinarity. ResumoNeste artigo, os autores discutem o complexo campo da percepção, em particular da percepção de risco, a partir de um ensaio de natureza teórica e metodológica que busca destacar a sua relevância em pesquisas que dialogam com a interface ambiente, saúde e sustentabilidade. Reconhecendo que fatores sociais e culturais influenciam direta e indiretamente as percepções que os indivíduos têm sobre diferentes riscos, os autores sinalizam que estudos nesse campo podem evidenciar os interesses, os valores e os pontos de conflitos existentes nas arenas e oferecer insights que ajudariam os tomadores de decisão a aperfeiçoar processos decisórios com maior envolvimento da sociedade. Para além da percepção de risco, o artigo discute também exemplos de investigações conduzidas pelos autores com enfoque sobre percepção ambiental. Buscando uma perspectiva crítica para tratar o tema, reconhecem a necessidade de compreender nos processos ambientais e em contextos sociais a configuração dos riscos socioambientais e suas percepções.

Responsible research and innovation (RRI) has affirmed the value of 'inclusion' and 'responsiveness' as institutional virtues necessary to ensure that reflexivity towards the social priorities behind innovation processes is made possible. It is argued that this affirmation links RRI to knowledge politics in other domains (e.g. environmental justice and the politics of development). It is suggested that lessons regarding inclusion and responsiveness can be drawn from these domains, focusing on the ways in which marginalised perspectives on need and vulnerability, once articulated, can help reconstitute the public sphere in which social priorities are defined. Three case studies are used to explore how entanglements of needs, vulnerabilities, identity and agency are vital to understanding the impacts of innovation and change more generally. It is argued that social science methodologies sensitised to such entanglements are necessary to help constitute a space of inclusion and responsiveness characterised, not by assumptions about idealised rational forms of deliberation, but by styles of communication that recognise vulnerability. ARTICLE HISTORY