Viewpoint: Terrorism and Dispelling the Myth of a Panic Prone Public

@article{citeulike:847971, abstract = {Governments and commentators perceive the public to be prone to panic in response to terrorist attacks - conventional or involving chemical, biological or radiological weapons. Evidence from five such incidents suggests that the public is not prone to panic, although people can change their behaviours and attitudes to reduce the risk of themselves being exposed to a terrorist incident. Behavioural responses may be divided into acts of omission, such as not making unnecessary journeys, and acts of commission, such as taking prophylactic medication despite the inherent risk of side effects. Evidence suggests that the public are aware of these differences, and tend to adopt responses proportionate to the risk. Drawing upon the literature in the social and natural sciences, our discussion encompasses differing risk perceptions of terrorist threats and consequences of attacks. How do fear and anxiety interact with behavioural responses to amplify or attenuate perceptions that can be modified through risk communication undertaken by authorities?}, author = {Sheppard and Ben and Rubin and James, G. and Wardman and Jamie, K. and Wessely and Simon}, citeulike-article-id = {847971}, doi = {10.1057/palgrave.jphp.3200083}, issn = {0197-5897}, journal = {Journal of Public Health Policy}, keywords = {disaster, panic}, number = {3}, pages = {219--245}, posted-at = {2008-03-15 23:09:53}, priority = {2}, publisher = {Palgrave Macmillan}, title = {Viewpoint: Terrorism and Dispelling the Myth of a Panic Prone Public}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jphp.3200083}, volume = {27}, year = {2006} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:847971 L3 - citeulike-article-id:847971 TI - Viewpoint: Terrorism and Dispelling the Myth of a Panic Prone Public JF - Journal of Public Health Policy VL - 27 IS - 3 SP - 219 EP - 245 PB - Palgrave Macmillan SN - 0197-5897 N2 - Governments and commentators perceive the public to be prone to panic in response to terrorist attacks - conventional or involving chemical, biological or radiological weapons. Evidence from five such incidents suggests that the public is not prone to panic, although people can change their behaviours and attitudes to reduce the risk of themselves being exposed to a terrorist incident. Behavioural responses may be divided into acts of omission, such as not making unnecessary journeys, and acts of commission, such as taking prophylactic medication despite the inherent risk of side effects. Evidence suggests that the public are aware of these differences, and tend to adopt responses proportionate to the risk. Drawing upon the literature in the social and natural sciences, our discussion encompasses differing risk perceptions of terrorist threats and consequences of attacks. How do fear and anxiety interact with behavioural responses to amplify or attenuate perceptions that can be modified through risk communication undertaken by authorities? KW - disaster KW - panic AU - Sheppard AU - Ben AU - Rubin AU - James, G AU - Wardman AU - Jamie, K AU - Wessely AU - Simon PY - 2006/// UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jphp.3200083 ER -