The Dark Side of the (Preparedness) Moon: Why Promoting Public Preparedness Remains Challenging

Despite best intentions and considerable effort, promoting households' preparedness to emergencies remains insufficiently low globally. It seems that, in some cases, particularly those in which populations are frequently exposed to any given threat, a more complex sociopsychological framework emerges - one in which classical motivators, such as threat perception cues, are no longer capable of turning salient belief into action. Recent studies suggest that this phenomenon, called victimization, has considerable implications on the efficacy of risk communication efforts and could jeopardize the success in promoting public readiness. Circumventing the psychological barriers caused by this phenomenon requires innovative approaches, such as using external incentives. The model and its implications are discussed (Disaster Med Public Health Prep.