An interdisciplinary lab for community-centered research

— IN DEPTH

How we think and work

What do we do?

We use diverse methods to understand the psychology behind disaster perceptions, attitudes, and decision-making. To empower communities towards change organizing and the reduction of disaster risk, the team studies how narratives and communication shape understandings of disaster phenomena and build or inhibit trusting relationships between stakeholders. We believe that bi-directional trust between communities and researchers is key to disaster prevention and recovery. Community members’ perspectives are centered and community-centered methodologies are used to gather data first-hand.

Who is our work for?

Currently, our primary focus is to support Floridian citizens and advocates who wish to reduce risk in their communities. We especially aim to incorporate and amplify the perspectives of historically vulnerable Floridians in our work. In the longer-term, we hope that our work can be applied in ways that benefit historically vulnerable communities on a broader geographic scale (via research collaborations or informing policy change).

Our approach to science

Science is political. It is often used to support a status quo that is oppressive and unjust for many people in societies around the world. Some particular perspectives (that serve power) have become hegemonic despite the fact that many viewpoints exist. Our research lab responds to questions through the lens of our principles. We know that answering questions in that way is challenging because dominant scientific systems, institutions and professionals view value-based methodological approaches with skepticism.

Why is the disciplinary mix important?

Interdisciplinary research is both consistently lauded and rare. Though challenging, it’s critical to the success of the project because we each come to the work from different theoretical angles. Additionally, we bring a broadened methodological toolset to enhance conducting and disseminating this work. The group is built on a foundational mix of disaster risk reduction and behavioral social psychology. To effectively study the impact of narratives on individuals and their communities, we need a strong base of psychology theory and methods as well as the contextual knowledge of disaster studies.

Why is it of value?

We study the psychology of disaster risk with a focus on social justice and science communication that builds trust. The DTSC Lab delivers empirical evidence that is built with communities from the ground up, connecting to the rich theoretical (and interdisciplinary) traditions of disaster studies, with a distinct flavor of psychological methods of study.

How we work with communities

We work with communities by building genuine relationships with individuals and groups, and showing up to support the work they are already doing. We believe that communities unfairly affected by burdens of risk should pursue their own objectives rather than our lab deciding those objectives for them. We also challenge the way science is gatekept by centering the community throughout the research process.

Disaster Studies  ·  Social Psychology  ·  Architecture  ·  Civil Engineering  ·  Public Health  ·  Hazards Geography  ·  Economics  ·  Environmental Science  ·  Anthropology  ·  Urban Planning  ·  Philosophy