As part of ongoing collaborative work with Dr Ksenia Chmutina, of Loughborough University, FIBER’s Dr Jason von Meding recently reflected on a series of experiments conducted with the Psychology Department at UF in the “Research Counts” section of the Natural Hazards Center website.
These experiments, part of a thriving partnership with Dr Colin Smith, attempt to better understand the impacts of attributing blame for disasters to nature. The article argues that our language and framing matters profoundly in shaping the way that the public understands disaster risk.
Drs von Meding and Smith are pushing ahead with investigations of how this understanding shapes action through the newly established Disasters, Trust and Social Change Lab. They were recently joined by Dr Marjorie Prokosch, who leads lab activities.
You can read the full article here.