CERC : psychology of a crisis ; Crisis + Emergency Risk Communication : psychology of a crisis ; Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication : psychology of a crisis ;

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S)

Chapter of the CERC manual showing:

• The four ways people process information during a crisis

• Mental states during a disaster, such as uncertainty, helplessness, and hopelessness

• Risk perception and behaviors

Crises, emergencies, and disasters happen. Disasters are different from personal and family emergencies, and not just because they are larger in scale. Disasters that take a toll on human life are characterized by change, high levels of uncertainty, and complexity.1

In a crisis, affected people take in information, process information, and act on information differently than they would during non-crisis times.2,3 People or groups may exaggerate their communication responses. They may revert to more basic or instinctive fight-or-flight reasoning.

Effective communication during a crisis is not an attempt at mass mental therapy, nor is it a magic potion that fixes all problems. Nonetheless, to reduce the psychological impact of a crisis, the public should feel empowered to take actions that will reduce their risk of harm.

This chapter will briefly describe how people process information differently during a crisis, the mental states and behaviors that tend to emerge in crises, how psychological effects are different in each phase of a crisis, and how to communicate to best reach people during these changing states of mind.

CS249215-A

CERC_Psychology_of_a_Crisis.pdf

Book Chapter

Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library collection