Multiple hazards and risk perceptions over time: the availability heuristic in Italy and Sweden under COVID-19
<p>The severe impact of global crises, such as COVID-19 and climate change, is plausibly reshaping the way in which people perceive risks. In this paper, we examine and compare how global crises and local disasters influence public perceptions of multiple hazards in Italy and Sweden. To this e...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences |
| Online Access: | https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/21/3439/2021/nhess-21-3439-2021.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818989305195921408 |
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| author | G. Di Baldassarre G. Di Baldassarre E. Mondino M. Rusca E. Del Giudice J. Mård E. Ridolfi A. Scolobig A. Scolobig E. Raffetti |
| author_facet | G. Di Baldassarre G. Di Baldassarre E. Mondino M. Rusca E. Del Giudice J. Mård E. Ridolfi A. Scolobig A. Scolobig E. Raffetti |
| author_sort | G. Di Baldassarre |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>The severe impact of global crises, such as COVID-19 and climate change, is plausibly reshaping the way in which people perceive risks. In this paper, we examine and compare how global crises and local disasters influence public perceptions of multiple hazards in Italy and Sweden. To this end, we integrate information about the occurrence of hazardous events with the results of two nationwide surveys. These included more than 4000 participants and were conducted in two different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic corresponding to low (August 2020) and high (November 2020) levels of infection rates. We found that, in both countries, people are more worried about risks related to experienced events. This is in line with the cognitive process known as the availability heuristic: individuals assess the risk associated with a given hazard based on how easily it comes to their mind. Epidemics, for example, are perceived as less likely and more impactful in Italy compared to Sweden. This outcome can be explained by cross-country differences in the impact of, as well as governmental responses to, COVID-19. Notwithstanding the ongoing pandemic, people in both Italy and Sweden are highly concerned about climate change, and they rank it as the most likely threat.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T19:36:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-824fbaaf9ee5422d84b88c738dc27fe9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1561-8633 1684-9981 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T19:36:22Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-824fbaaf9ee5422d84b88c738dc27fe92022-12-21T19:28:38ZengCopernicus PublicationsNatural Hazards and Earth System Sciences1561-86331684-99812021-11-01213439344710.5194/nhess-21-3439-2021Multiple hazards and risk perceptions over time: the availability heuristic in Italy and Sweden under COVID-19G. Di Baldassarre0G. Di Baldassarre1E. Mondino2M. Rusca3E. Del Giudice4J. Mård5E. Ridolfi6A. Scolobig7A. Scolobig8E. Raffetti9Centre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SwedenInvited contribution by Giuliano Di Baldassarre, recipient of the EGU Plinius Medal 2021. Centre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SwedenCentre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SwedenPsychiatry Northwest, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, SwedenCentre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SwedenCentre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SwedenEnvironmental Governance and Territorial Development Institute, University of Geneva, Geneva, SwitzerlandInternational Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Vienna, AustriaDepartment of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden<p>The severe impact of global crises, such as COVID-19 and climate change, is plausibly reshaping the way in which people perceive risks. In this paper, we examine and compare how global crises and local disasters influence public perceptions of multiple hazards in Italy and Sweden. To this end, we integrate information about the occurrence of hazardous events with the results of two nationwide surveys. These included more than 4000 participants and were conducted in two different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic corresponding to low (August 2020) and high (November 2020) levels of infection rates. We found that, in both countries, people are more worried about risks related to experienced events. This is in line with the cognitive process known as the availability heuristic: individuals assess the risk associated with a given hazard based on how easily it comes to their mind. Epidemics, for example, are perceived as less likely and more impactful in Italy compared to Sweden. This outcome can be explained by cross-country differences in the impact of, as well as governmental responses to, COVID-19. Notwithstanding the ongoing pandemic, people in both Italy and Sweden are highly concerned about climate change, and they rank it as the most likely threat.</p>https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/21/3439/2021/nhess-21-3439-2021.pdf |
| spellingShingle | G. Di Baldassarre G. Di Baldassarre E. Mondino M. Rusca E. Del Giudice J. Mård E. Ridolfi A. Scolobig A. Scolobig E. Raffetti Multiple hazards and risk perceptions over time: the availability heuristic in Italy and Sweden under COVID-19 Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences |
| title | Multiple hazards and risk perceptions over time: the availability heuristic in Italy and Sweden under COVID-19 |
| title_full | Multiple hazards and risk perceptions over time: the availability heuristic in Italy and Sweden under COVID-19 |
| title_fullStr | Multiple hazards and risk perceptions over time: the availability heuristic in Italy and Sweden under COVID-19 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Multiple hazards and risk perceptions over time: the availability heuristic in Italy and Sweden under COVID-19 |
| title_short | Multiple hazards and risk perceptions over time: the availability heuristic in Italy and Sweden under COVID-19 |
| title_sort | multiple hazards and risk perceptions over time the availability heuristic in italy and sweden under covid 19 |
| url | https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/21/3439/2021/nhess-21-3439-2021.pdf |
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