Affect, risk perception and future optimism after the tsunami disaster

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Date

2008-01

Authors

Vastfjall, Daniel
Peters, Ellen
Slovic, Paul

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Society for Judgment and Decision Making

Abstract

Environmental events such as natural disasters may influence the public’s affective reactions and decisions. Shortly after the 2004 Tsunami disaster we assessed how affect elicited by thinking about this disaster influenced risk perceptions and future time perspective in Swedish undergraduates not directly affected by the disaster. An experimental manipulation was used to increase the salience of affect associated with the disaster. In Study 1 we found that participants reminded about the tsunami had a sense that their life was more finite and included fewer opportunities than participants in the control condition (not reminded about the tsunami). In Study 2 we found similar effects for risk perceptions. In addition, we showed that manipulations of ease-of-thought influenced the extent to which affect influenced these risk perceptions, with greater ease of thoughts being associated with greater perceived risks.

Description

9 pages

Keywords

Natural hazards, Affect, Risk perception, Disasters

Citation

Västfjäll, D., Peters, E., & Slovic, P. (2008). Affect, risk perception and future optimism after the tsunami disaster. Judgment and Decision Making, 3, 64-72.