Abstract

There is a high need for cognition on earthquake risk to improve the public’s risk knowledge and risk awareness, so that they can make right decisions and take quick actions regarding mitigation measures and adjustments. In this study, search engine query data from the Baidu Index were extracted to reveal the information search behaviors of the Chinese public regarding the earthquake risk from 2010 to 2012. The data were also analyzed to discuss the characteristics of need for cognition on a nationwide scale and over the long term. The results showed that (1) graphic representations of need for cognition adhere to a “half-peak pattern” before and after earthquake events and (2) dimensions in psychological distance theory, such as temporal distance (time span between earthquakes), spatial distance, and social distance (geographic location) influence the need for cognition on earthquake risk that was the time and spatial discount effect. The implications for theory and practice regarding risk communication and management are discussed and concluded.

Highlights

  • People are inevitably exposed to risks as a part of life, and the consequences of these risks have become more and more serious with the development of modern infrastructure

  • It can be observed that the curve of Fd is a typical half-peak pattern—flat before the earthquake, rising sharply during the earthquake, and decreasing as time goes on. is variation reflects that the need for cognition (NFC) on earthquake risk increases when people perceive earthquakes as being closer to them in time, supporting Hypothesis 1

  • In relation to educational level, those who were highly educated demonstrated a stronger NFC on earthquake risk, which is similar result on the correlation between NFC and education found in various studies on psychology, catastrophology, and risk management [2]. is is because those who are highly educated are associated with high intelligence, and, they are likely to actively search for and gather sufficient information before solving with problems

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Summary

Introduction

People are inevitably exposed to risks as a part of life, and the consequences of these risks have become more and more serious with the development of modern infrastructure. How individuals respond and adapt to the risks they encounter has drawn the attention by academics, where it has been found that awareness of the public’s perceptions and desire to learn more about risks serve as an important foundation for understanding different levels of risk-adaptation ability [1]. There have been few studies on how need for cognition (NFC) and information-seeking behavior led to differences in risk awareness and response. Is paper suggests that a more comprehensive understanding of how individuals’ NFC regarding risks can help explain why individuals have different levels of risk perception, cognition, and response and, promote more effective disaster reduction policies.

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