I can still see, hear and smell the fire: Cognitive, emotional and personal consequences of a natural disaster, and the impact of evacuation

Igor Knez,Johan Willander,Andrew Butler,Åsa Ode Sang,Ingrid Sarlöv-Herlin,Ann Åkerskog

doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101554

Igor Knez, Johan Willander + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101554

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Abstract

We investigated the effects of evacuation experience on autobiographical memory, sensory-perceptual re-experiencing, emotions, and personal consequentiality of a natural disaster one year after. A total of 601 individuals participated, living nearby the area of the largest fire in modern times in Sweden. It was shown that evacuated (first-hand experience) compared to not-evacuated (second-hand experience) participants thought and talked more about the fire. Evacuated residents also mentally traveled back and re-lived the disaster more; as well as saw the fire, heard its sound, smelled it more, and felt more anxious, enraged, and emotionally strong. Moreover, evacuated compared to not-evacuated participants estimated that their life and view of the world had changed due to the natural disaster. All this suggests that the psychology of dramatically charged events, such as natural disasters, differs notably between individuals “being there” and those “hearing the news”, indicating a factual flashbulb memory as a result of the first-hand experience.

Highlights

Newsflashes about alarming and consequential public incidents, such as political events and natural disasters, are broadcasted daily, entailing social-psychological negative and/or positive aftermaths (Brown & Kulik, 1977; Knez et al, 2018; Luminet & Curci, 2009a; Schmuck & Vlek, 2003)
The general aim was to investigate the role of first- compared to second-hand experience of a natural disaster, suggesting that evacuated compared to not-evacuated partici pants would show more of a factual flashbulb memory, or more of an especially efficient encoding, serving a directive role for the self in an efficacious adaptation and adjustment to a novel environment (Conway, 1995; Finkenauer et al, 1998; Knez, 2014; Knez & Eliasson, 2017; Knez et al, 2018b, 2020; Pillemer, 2009)
In line with this reasoning, we hypothesized that respondents with first-compared to second-hand experience would report stronger emotional reactions (Hypothesis 1), better autobiographical performance (Hypothesis 2), and more of the sensory re-experiencing (Hypothesis 3) and personal consequentiality (Hypothesis 4) of the natural disaster

Summary

Introduction

Newsflashes about alarming and consequential public incidents, such as political events and natural disasters, are broadcasted daily, entailing social-psychological negative and/or positive aftermaths (Brown & Kulik, 1977; Knez et al, 2018; Luminet & Curci, 2009a; Schmuck & Vlek, 2003). Autobio graphical memory is involved in the processes of maintaining personal and social bonding, sharing, and continuity in the self-system, as well as the processes of directing present and future self-goals and behaviors (Bluck et al, 2005; Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, 2000; Conway & Rubin, 1993; Knez, 2017; Knez et al, 2017; Pillemer, 2003) It enables in dividuals to remember and re-experience past self-biographical events (Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, 2000), outlined as life chronicles (Brewer, 1999; Fivush, 2011; Habermas & Bluck, 2000; Tulving, 2002)

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