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Decision-making and media choices in victims of natural disasters
Conference paper

Decision-making and media choices in victims of natural disasters

Julie Fullerton
Proceedings of the 2018 Australian and New Zealand Disaster and Emergency Management Conference, pp.17-32
Australian and New Zealand Disaster and Emergency Management Conference (ANZDMC), 2018 (Gold Coast, Australia, 21-May-2018–22-May-2018)
Australian & New Zealand Mental Health Association
2018
url
https://anzdmc.com.au/bop/bop18.pdfView
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Abstract

Business and Management fear appeal media consumption protection motivation crisis communication
Victims of disaster are arguably the most impacted of all stakeholders with their decisions being made in an environment of fear, anxiety, grief, fatigue, demoralisation and disconnectedness. Research suggests that a large number of victims tend to ignore emergency warnings and advice. Instead they prefer to carry out their own individual risk analysis based on information they glean from traditional and social media, and their own personal networks. But what decision-making processes do they undergo and how does that motivate their media choices? A review of the literature shows emotional factors such as fear can affect how victims process information, perceive risk and make critical survival decisions for themselves, their loved ones and their property. Personalising risk is vital for a victim's feelings of strong self-efficacy that enable decision-making and instigate protective behaviour. Two factors are of primary importance in this process: 1) the victim's strong belief in their own ability to respond (self-efficacy) and 2) access to the right information through the right medium. Some researchers point to factors like self-efficacy as the most powerful predictors of behaviour change. This research considers these issues using theories such as Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), the Risk Information Seeking and Processing (RISP) Model, and the Protective Action Decision (PAD) Model to understand how victims' process information and make decisions, with a particular focus on the drivers of media choice. This is done through the lens of individual characteristics such as demographics, media preference, risk decision-making, emotions and situational factors.

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