A Psychological Analysis of the Impacts of Visualization and Individual Differences on Tornado Warning Response

Previous research has shown decision making during disasters and natural hazards can be complicated and messy. These types of decisions can be complicated and messy because many different factors must be considered when deciding how to respond (e.g., susceptibility, severity, logistics) and these same factors do not impact all people equally. So how, then, can we as members of the weather enterprise communicate risk and uncertainty information in a way that encourages members of the public to take recommended protective action? This study extends previous research by examining the impacts of various social, personality, and message components on individuals’ propensity to take precautionary action in response to a fictitious tornado threat.

This research surveyed US adults. At the onset of the study, participants responded to several individual difference measures shown to influence decision making (e.g., need for cognition). Then, participants read a fictitious tornado warning that contained the experimental message manipulations. After participants read the warning, they responded to the primary dependent measure--their willingness to shelter in response to the tornado threat--as well as several other items believed to influence their decisions. These items included, their understanding of the message and cognitive appraisals of both the threat and recommended protective action.

This presentation will discuss the factors most heavily influencing participants’ decisions (data forthcoming) and practical implications of these results.