What determines willingness to take preventive actions in areas experiencing severe flooding?

Tyszka, Tadeusz; Konieczny, Roman

Abstract

The present research investigated the perception of the fl ood threat and willingness of inhabitants of regions experiencing regular severe floods to take preventive actions.
Residents of two type of regions were compared: those living in a region protected by flood levees vs. residents living unprotected regions. Inhabitants of the area protected by the levees resulting in the rare experience of fl ood, perceived probability of flood as lower and reported higher willingness to take preventive actions than inhabitants of the area unprotected by levees. Similarly as in many previous studies personal experience and social norms turned out to be crucial factors in determining self-protective behavior. On the other hand unlike in other studies, we found no relationship between decision makers’ willingness to take preventive actions and factors related to threat appraisal, such as the
perceived magnitude of loss and the perceived probability of damage. Finally, we found that the impact of a given factor on willingness to protect oneself against a hazard may depend on the kind of measure of the protective behavior.

Keywords

natural hazards (1)flooding (1)preventive actions (1)risk (4)personal experience (1)social norms (2)

References

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Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. [Google Scholar]
Cutter, S., & Barnes, K. (1982). Evacuation behavior and Three Mile Island. Disasters, 6, 116-124. [Google Scholar]
Fishbein, M. & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. [Google Scholar]
Huettel, S.A., Mack, P.B., & McCarthy, G. (2002). Perceiving patterns in random series: Dynamic processing of sequence in prefrontal cortex. Nature Neuroscience, 5(5), 485-490. [Google Scholar]
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Loewenstein G., Weber E.U., Hsee C.K., Welch N. (2001). Risk as feelings. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 267-286. [Google Scholar]
Lerner J.S., Li Y., Valdesolo P., Kassam K.S. (2015). Emotion and decision making. Annual Review of Psychology, 66(1), 799-823. [Google Scholar]
Lindell, M.K., & Perry, R.W. (2012). The Protective Action Decision Model: Theoretical modifi cations and additional evidence. Risk Analysis, 32, 616-632. [Google Scholar]
Major, A.M. (1993). A test of situational communication theory: Public response to the 1990 Browning earthquake prediction. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 11, 337-349. [Google Scholar]
Miceli, R., & Sotgiu, I.M. (2008). Disaster preparedness and perception of fl ood risk: A study in an alpine valley in Italy. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 28, 164-173. [Google Scholar]
Mileti, D.S., & Darlington, J.D. (1997). The role of searching in shaping reactions to earthquake risk information. Social Problems, 44, 89-103. [Google Scholar]
Seligman, M.E.P. (1975). Helplessness: On depression, development, and death. San Francisco: Freeman. [Google Scholar]
Siegrist, M., & Gutscher, H. (2008). Natural hazards and motivation for mitigation behavior: People cannot predict the affect evoked by a severe fl ood. Risk Analysis, 28, 771-778. [Google Scholar]
Schade, C., Kunreuther, H.C., & Koellinger, P. (2012). Protecting against low-probability disasters: The role of worry. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 25, 534-543. [Google Scholar]
van der Pligt, J. (1998). Perceived risk and vulnerability as predictors of precautionary behaviour. British Journal of Health Psychology, 3, 1-14. [Google Scholar]
Weinstein, N.D. (1989). Effects of personal experience on self-protective behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 105, 31-50. [Google Scholar]
Wilde, G.J.S. (1982). The theory of risk homeostasis: Implications for safety and health. Risk Analysis, 2, 209-225. [Google Scholar]
Zaalberg, R., Midden, C., Meijnders, A., & McCalley, T. (2009). Prevention, adaptation, and threat denial: Flooding experiences in the Netherlands. Risk Analysis, 29, 1759-1778. [Google Scholar]

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APA style

Tyszka, Tadeusz & Konieczny, Roman (2016). What determines willingness to take preventive actions in areas experiencing severe flooding?. (2016). What determines willingness to take preventive actions in areas experiencing severe flooding?. Decyzje, (25), 5-19. https://doi.org/10.7206/DEC.1733-0092.68 (Original work published 06/16AD)

MLA style

Tyszka, Tadeusz and Konieczny, Roman. “What Determines Willingness To Take Preventive Actions In Areas Experiencing Severe Flooding?”. 06/16AD. Decyzje, no. 25, 2016, pp. 5-19.

Chicago style

Tyszka, Tadeusz and Konieczny, Roman. “What Determines Willingness To Take Preventive Actions In Areas Experiencing Severe Flooding?”. Decyzje, Decyzje, no. 25 (2016): 5-19. doi:10.7206/DEC.1733-0092.68.

Copyright info

CC-BY

[1] Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211. [Google Scholar]

[2] Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. [Google Scholar]

[3] Cutter, S., & Barnes, K. (1982). Evacuation behavior and Three Mile Island. Disasters, 6, 116-124. [Google Scholar]

[4] Fishbein, M. & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. [Google Scholar]

[5] Huettel, S.A., Mack, P.B., & McCarthy, G. (2002). Perceiving patterns in random series: Dynamic processing of sequence in prefrontal cortex. Nature Neuroscience, 5(5), 485-490. [Google Scholar]

[6] Kievik, M.,& Gutteling, J.M. (2011). Yes, we can: Motivate Dutch citizens to engage in self -protective behavior with regard to fl ood risks. Natural Hazards, 59, 1475-1490. [Google Scholar]

[7] Kundzewicz, Z.W. (1999). Flood protection – sustainability issues. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 44, 559-571. [Google Scholar]

[8] Kunreuther, H.C. (1978). Disaster insurance protection. Public policy lessons. New York, NY: Wiley. [Google Scholar]

[9] Loewenstein G., Weber E.U., Hsee C.K., Welch N. (2001). Risk as feelings. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 267-286. [Google Scholar]

[10] Lerner J.S., Li Y., Valdesolo P., Kassam K.S. (2015). Emotion and decision making. Annual Review of Psychology, 66(1), 799-823. [Google Scholar]

[11] Lindell, M.K., & Perry, R.W. (2012). The Protective Action Decision Model: Theoretical modifi cations and additional evidence. Risk Analysis, 32, 616-632. [Google Scholar]

[12] Major, A.M. (1993). A test of situational communication theory: Public response to the 1990 Browning earthquake prediction. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 11, 337-349. [Google Scholar]

[13] Miceli, R., & Sotgiu, I.M. (2008). Disaster preparedness and perception of fl ood risk: A study in an alpine valley in Italy. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 28, 164-173. [Google Scholar]

[14] Mileti, D.S., & Darlington, J.D. (1997). The role of searching in shaping reactions to earthquake risk information. Social Problems, 44, 89-103. [Google Scholar]

[15] Seligman, M.E.P. (1975). Helplessness: On depression, development, and death. San Francisco: Freeman. [Google Scholar]

[16] Siegrist, M., & Gutscher, H. (2008). Natural hazards and motivation for mitigation behavior: People cannot predict the affect evoked by a severe fl ood. Risk Analysis, 28, 771-778. [Google Scholar]

[17] Schade, C., Kunreuther, H.C., & Koellinger, P. (2012). Protecting against low-probability disasters: The role of worry. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 25, 534-543. [Google Scholar]

[18] van der Pligt, J. (1998). Perceived risk and vulnerability as predictors of precautionary behaviour. British Journal of Health Psychology, 3, 1-14. [Google Scholar]

[19] Weinstein, N.D. (1989). Effects of personal experience on self-protective behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 105, 31-50. [Google Scholar]

[20] Wilde, G.J.S. (1982). The theory of risk homeostasis: Implications for safety and health. Risk Analysis, 2, 209-225. [Google Scholar]

[21] Zaalberg, R., Midden, C., Meijnders, A., & McCalley, T. (2009). Prevention, adaptation, and threat denial: Flooding experiences in the Netherlands. Risk Analysis, 29, 1759-1778. [Google Scholar]

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