Natural hazards in novels and films: Implications for hazard perception and behaviour

Researchers have attempted to evaluate the importance and credibility of different information sources. Ruch (1980) found that exposure to information brochures improved hazard awareness more than exposure to television or radio bulletins. TheN ational Academy of Sciences (1980) and Scanlon (1978) have discussed the credibility and accuracy of disaster reporting in newspapers and in the broadcasting media. Yet within the category of the mass media we should include not only television, radio, and newspapers, but also novels and films. Whereas the first three sources tend to report actual events, the latter two provide us with fictional accounts of disaster. All of these information sources can improve hazard awareness, although there is little evidence, one way or another, that this information then leads to more appropriate behaviour and a reduction in disaster damages.