Psychological factors and social processes influencing wildfire smoke protective behavior: Insights from a case study in Northern California (original) (raw)
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Catching Fire? Social Interactions, Beliefs, and Wildfire Risk Mitigation Behaviors
Social interactions are widely recognized as a potential influence on risk-related behaviors. We present a mediation model in which social interactions (classified as formal=informal and generic=fire-specific) are associated with beliefs about wildfire risk and mitigation options, which in turn shape wildfire mitigation behaviors. We test this model using survey data from fire-prone areas of Colorado. In several cases, our results are consistent with the mediation hypotheses for mitigation actions specifically targeting vegetative fuel reduction. Perceived wildfire probability partially mediates the relationship between several interaction types and vegetative mitigation behaviors, while perceptions of aesthetic barriers and lack of information play a mediating role in the case of fire-specific formal interactions. Our results suggest that social interactions may allow mitigation and prevention behaviors to ‘‘catch fire’’ within a community, and that wildfire education programs could leverage these interactions to enhance programmatic benefits.
What Motivates Individuals to Protect Themselves from Risks: The Case of Wildland Fires
Risk Analysis, 2007
This research investigates the cognitive perceptual process that homeowners go through when faced with the decision to protect themselves from the risk of wildfires. This decision can be examined by looking at the interaction between the integrated protection motivation theorytranstheoretical model and different levels of homeowners' subjective knowledge related to wildfire risks. We investigated the role of motivation, decision stages of risk readiness, and subjective knowledge on the number of risk-mitigating actions undertaken by homeowners living in high-risk communities. The results indicate that homeowners who are in an early or precontemplative stage (both low and high subjective knowledge) as well as low knowledge contemplatives are motivated by their perceived degree of vulnerability to mitigate the risk. In contrast, high knowledge contemplatives' potential behavioral changes are more likely to be motivated by increasing their perceptions of the severity of the risk. Risk-mitigating behaviors undertaken by high knowledge action homeowners are influenced by their perceptions of risk severity, self-efficacy, and response efficacy. In contrast, the low knowledge action homeowners engage in risk reduction behaviors without the influence of any of the PMT variables; demonstrating their motivation to emulate others in their community. These results have implications for the type of information that should be used to effectively communicate risks in an effort to influence the diverse homeowner segments to engage in risk-reduction behaviors.
Increasing Preparedness for Wildfires by Informing Residents of Their Community’s Social Norms
Natural Hazards Review, 2018
Despite being informed about the risks of wildfires and what can be done to reduce these risks, many Australian residents in areas prone to wildfires still do not adequately prepare for them. A more effective strategy is needed to encourage residents to become better prepared for wildfires. Studies have shown that communicating social norms, such as what others typically do (i.e., the descriptive norm) and think should be done (i.e., the injunctive norm), is an effective way of modifying behavior. Two pilot studies were run in which participants played a game where they simulated preparing for a wildfire. A social norm message was found to significantly increase wildfire preparedness in this hypothetical game. When the equivalent message was trialed in an actual field study by surveying residents twice 19 days apart on average, the number of preparedness actions performed by residents increased by 11%. These results indicate that social norm messages can play a useful role as part of a larger information campaign to encourage people to become better prepared for wildfires.
Social Amplification of Wildfire Risk: The Role of Social Interactions and Information Sources
Wildfire is a persistent and growing threat across much of the western United States. Understanding how people living in fire-prone areas perceive this threat is essential to the design of effective risk management policies. Drawing on the social amplification of risk framework, we develop a conceptual model of wildfire risk perceptions that incorporates the social processes that likely shape how individuals in fire-prone areas come to understand this risk, highlighting the role of information sources and social interactions. We classify information sources as expert or nonexpert, and group social interactions according to two dimensions: formal versus informal, and generic versus fire-specific. Using survey data from two Colorado counties, we empirically examine how information sources and social interactions relate to the perceived probability and perceived consequences of a wildfire. Our results suggest that social amplification processes play a role in shaping how individuals in this area perceive wildfire risk. A key finding is that both “vertical” (i.e., expert information sources and formal social interactions) and “horizontal” (i.e., nonexpert information and informal interactions) interactions are associated with perceived risk of experiencing a wildfire. We also find evidence of perceived “risk interdependency”—that is, homeowners’ perceptions of risk are higher when vegetation on neighboring properties is perceived to be dense. Incorporating social amplification processes into community-based wildfire education programs and evaluating these programs’ effectiveness constitutes an area for future inquiry.
2011
As the incidence of devastating fires rises, managing the risk posed by these fires has become critical. This report provides important information to examine the ways that different groups or disaster subcultures develop the mentalities or perceived realities that affect their views and responses concerning risk and disaster preparedness. Fire risk beliefs and attitudes of individuals and groups from four geographic areas in the Southwest (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Region 3, Arizona and New Mexico) surrounding the Kaibab, Tonto, Santa Fe, and Lincoln National Forests are presented. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, we collected information from three distinct groups: general public, informed lay public, and local experts. In addition, personal interviews were conducted with a group of policy experts in the science of wildfires and climate change. A primary finding indicates that all of the groups that we interviewed expressed a strong desire for land managers to manage the public lands proactively in order to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. However, respondents expressed different preferences regarding the management approach that should be used. One important observation was that respondents in each of the three distinct respondent groups prioritized their preferred means of communication differently.
Exposures and behavioral responses to wildfire smoke
2021
The impacts of environmental change on human outcomes often depend on local exposures and behavioral responses that are challenging to observe with traditional administrative or sensor data. We show how data from private pollution sensors, cell phones, social media posts, and internet search activity yield new insights on exposures and behavioral responses during large wildfire smoke events across the US, a rapidly-growing environmental stressor. Health-protective behavior, mobility, and sentiment all respond to increasing ambient wildfire smoke concentrations, but responses differ by income. Indoor pollution monitors provide starkly different estimates of likely personal exposure during smoke events than would be inferred from traditional ambient outdoor sensors, with similar outdoor pollution levels generating >20x differences in average indoor PM2.5 concentrations. Our results suggest that the current policy reliance on self protection to mitigate health risks in the face of r...
Journal of Environmental Management, 2009
An important policy question receiving considerable attention concerns the risk perception-risk mitigation process that guides how individuals choose to address natural hazard risks. This question is considered in the context of wildfire. We analyze the factors that influence risk reduction behaviors by homeowners living in the wildland-urban interface. The factors considered are direct experience, knowledge of wildfire risk, locus of responsibility, fulltime/seasonal status, and self-efficacy. Survey data from three homeowner associations in the western U.S. are used to estimate the direct and indirect effects of this relationship. Our results indicate that the effects of knowledge and locus of responsibility are mediated by homeowners' risk perceptions. We also find that beliefs of self-efficacy and fulltime/ seasonal status have a direct influence on risk reduction behaviors. Finally, we find, surprisingly, that direct experience with wildfire does not directly influence the risk perception-risk mitigation process.
Letdowns, wake-up calls, and constructed preferences: Peoples responses to fuel and wildfire risks
2006
This article presents results from three studies, which seek to develop a better understanding of some of the difficulties faced by forest managers in making wildfire risk management decisions. Study 1 showed that both the experts and the public tend to emphasize uncontrollable factors when asked to consider the causes of wildfires. Study 2 revealed the large role played by emotional responses in judgments about wildfire risks. Study 3 showed that preferences for risk management options tend to be remarkably malleable in response to even slight shifts in framing. In contrast to previous studies that call for improved public education about wildfire, our results emphasize the need to introduce improved processes to inform both expert and public decisionmaking for fire risk management.