Social Influences on behavioural response to earthquake shaking

Abstract

Many earthquake injuries in Aotearoa New Zealand occur because people either do not act quickly to protect themselves or act in a way which can lead to harm. Earthquakes are an uncertain context in which to make behavioural decisions. Previous research has demonstrated that people’s initial response to earthquake shaking is to wait and see if the shaking continues or increases in intensity. Evidence also suggests that people frequently look to those around them for behavioural cues. We discuss this evidence, in the context of underlying psychological phenomena which might explain these behavioural tendencies in response to the uncertainty of earthquake shaking, in particular social norm theory. As part of our discussion, we present evidence from Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage of the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake at Wellington International Airport, Aotearoa New Zealand. We make suggestions for future work exploring the role of social influences on behavioural responses to earthquake shaking including varied study methods and data types.