The history of unheeded disaster warnings may very possibly date to the earliest days of civilization, if not before. Social science research on the public response to warnings began in earnest during the 1950's, and continues to this day. (See Net Links below to access Annotated Bibliography for Public Risk Communication: On Warnings for Public Protective Actions Response and Public Education, Revision 4 dated September 2006, which summarizes nearly 350 studies.)
During 1990, a definitive study by Dennis Mileti and John Sorensen was published, Communication of Emergency Public Warnings: A Social Science Perspective and State-of-the-Art Assessment, that summarized and synthesized the research findings to that point. The content of this chapter is based on these research findings, however by necessity, must be limited in scope and depth. The full document may be accessed (see Net Links below), and is recommended for future reference.
This lesson provides a summary of the social context within which your warning must achieve the desired result -- getting the public to act!
The Warning Response Process
Individuals usually follow the same general process, from the time they receive a warning until the time they decide how to respond. Attributes of both the message sender and the message receiver affect the outcome. Subsequent lessons in this chapter relate implications of this process to effective warning practices.
Hearing
Hearing, in this case, goes beyond the physical act; rather, it refers to whether the message receiver actually pays attention to what is heard.
Research suggests that the more channels that are used for the warning message, the more likely it is to be received and attended to. A virtue of the HazCollect system is that it already provides the opportunity to use multiple channels, including NOAA Weather Radio, EAS broadcast, and NWS text products.
- Other tools that may be available to you may include sirens, local media, automated telephone ring down system, emergency hotline number, 211 referral service, or government Website.
- A consideration in this category is the special needs of the hearing impaired. SAME enabled NOAA Weather Radios typically provide connections to assistive alerting devices. (See Net Links below for more information.)
- Understanding
Understanding also goes beyond mere correct interpretation to comprehension of meaning and significance.
- The receiver's understanding is enhanced by previous similar experience with the hazard and protective action instructions.
- Although the results from research are mixed, pre-disaster public awareness efforts should increase the likelihood of comprehension in response to an actual event. Mileti and Sorensen state:
... we do know that knowledge regarding a hazard, appropriate protective actions in response to hazard warnings, and the character of existing warnings systems are the major topics which should be covered by public education.
- Attributes of the message content, with respect to specific information about the characterization of the hazard (what), risk location (where), time available to respond (when), and protective instructions (why, how) affect comprehension.
- Believing
Believing refers to whether the receiver finds the message credible.
- Three significant factors relating to the source of the message (who), have been found to be important to enhancing credibility of the message:
how well known (i.e. familiar) the source is;
- whether the source is perceived to be an official source; and
- the personal or professional credibility of the source.
- Personalizing
Personalizing refers to the degree to which the receiver identifies whether or not he or she will be personally affected by the hazard.
- An obstacle to be overcome is the tendency for people to be overly optimistic, i.e., "It won't happen to me."
- Deciding and Responding
The message receiver decides what, if any, action to take in response.
- The response decision may be determined to a large degree by whether the recommended protective action is realistically feasible for the individual.
- Confirming
A response action that many people take is to seek additional information from other sources, typically friends and relatives, to help better understand the event and confirm decisions.
- By necessity, initial warnings are limited in nature, which increases confirmation seeking activity. Whenever possible, alternative sources of additional, more detailed information should be referenced.
Please see the following links for further information on warning research and NWR for the hearing impaired. Then check your knowledge via the self-assessment quiz on the next page.
