NSF Award
1917148
Through experiments and focus groups, this project uses interactive digital environments to investigate the mechanisms through which earthquake disaster preparedness behaviors are adopted and maintained. It explores novel communication tools for promoting those behaviors in the hard-to-reach demographic: 18-29 year-olds. Insights gleaned from the project will help shape communication strategies to solve the urgent societal problem of disaster risk reduction. The study location in the Portland, Oregon Metropolitan Area anticipates a potentially devastating earthquake on the Cascadia subduction zone. Digital media developed as research tools in this project will be released as outreach products, contributing directly to national welfare via resilience-building in the Pacific Northwest. Collaborations with local emergency managers ensure that communication tools developed for this project promote essential priorities and that research findings are delivered to the agencies that will benefit most from them. This scientific research contribution thus supports NSF's mission to promote the progress of science and to advance our national welfare. In this case, the benefits will be insights to improve earthquake disaster preparedness, which will save lives, economic losses, and reduce panic, anger and confusion during a future event.<br/><br/> <br/>This project addresses key gaps in current understandings of how social cognitive perspectives apply to disaster preparedness. Specific research objectives are to: 1) characterize the effectiveness of interactive environments for promoting multiple solution pathways and problem-solving related to earthquake preparedness; 2) evaluate the relevance of different approaches to observational learning related to earthquake preparedness; 3) quantify the effects of cooperation on confidence in and inclination to take preparedness action; and 4) assess the effects of social processing through digital networks on behavior adoption inclination and critical awareness. These objectives will be accomplished through four experiments using interactive digital media, supported by focus groups that ensure salience of the media to target audiences and add depth to experimental result interpretation. Pathways linking experimental variables, possible mediating variables, and key dependent variables including self-efficacy, outcome expectations, intent to act, and preparedness action will be elucidated via structural equation modeling. Extending the study of social influences on preparedness behavior into the digital arena is an innovation that resonates with the media consumption habits of the target audience. While most applications of social cognitive theory to the disaster preparedness context are cross-sectional studies, use of interactive digital environments permits an experimental approach with which to test and extend current understandings. The project also directly engages dozens of undergraduates in the research.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
