RAPID: Social Context and Emotional Response to Disaster

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge LA

Investigators

Abstract

On April 22, 2010, two days after exploding and leaving eleven workers dead, the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon drilling rig sank into the Gulf of Mexico. The Coast Guard initially was relatively optimistic in its assessment of the consequences of the rig disaster. Within a week, however, it became increasingly clear that oil leaks caused by the rig's collapse significantly threaten the regional and national economy and natural environment. This ongoing crisis has the potential to fundamentally change the way of life in coastal communities. Scholarship to understand the way in which individuals learn about and respond to a disaster of this magnitude is crucial. The purpose of this project is to understand the manner in which people use social networks to obtain information, making social and political decisions in the context of experiencing a major disaster, and to examine the extent to which emotional responses to disaster are structured by these networks of social communication. The intellectual merit of this project is rooted in the recognition that emotions and political knowledge, attitudes and behavior take place in social context. The key purpose in this study is to examine the social nature of disaster response-that is, how social context influences both how individuals learn about a crisis. The investigators examine how social networks shape emotional reactions and behavioral responses to the crisis. Little research has been conducted regarding how people use social networks to respond to oil spills in particular; however, a number of studies have examined the importance of social context in other disaster related behavior. Two theoretical approaches have emerged in these studies. According to the social cohesion model, intimacy, trust, respect, and mutual regard influence the social flow of relevant information. For example, scholars who study evacuation after hurricanes have found that social ties and social structure significantly influence evacuation behavior (Perry 1979; Drabek and Stephenson 1971). Alternatively, the structural equivalence model (Huckfeldt and Sprague 1991, Burt 1987) argues that it is the pattern of social ties that is most important, not the intimacy and respect present in the relationship. In general, the structural equivalence theory is compatible with an emphasis that ties between primary groups ("weak ties") are at least as important as ties within primary groups. Despite the devastating consequences of oil spills, they are unlike other types of disasters (such as earthquakes or hurricanes) in that they do not force residents to leave their communities in the short-term. This unique crisis provides an opportunity to contrast the influence of close friends and family to the influence of similarly situated neighbors and co-workers in providing information about the disaster and influencing emotional and behavioral responses. While substantial research has been done on the importance of social context in influencing attitudes and behaviors, that research generally does not examine the role of emotion. Emotion is almost certainly a key factor in conditioning how social context influences attitudes and responses to disaster. The political and social implications of emotion are pervasive, having been empirically linked to numerous political and social behaviors; however, little is known about the social antecedents of emotion. In catastrophic events emotions are rarely felt and displayed in isolation, rather, they should be intimately linked to the reactions of others, especially as individuals seek the solace of others to cope with these aversive events. The investigators expect that emotional reactions will be conditioned by one?s social network, as social connections are one of the primary ways to cope with disaster. They are particularly interested in contrasting the relative power of structural equivalence and social cohesion in conditioning the emotional reaction to disaster. To examine the role of social ties in the context of a disaster, the investigators will administer a survey to a sample of respondents in two communities in coastal Louisiana. They will also interview discussants named in this survey, following a snowball procedure. Graduate and undergraduates will have an opportunity through this project to develop their research skills in the context of a problem that has significant practical relevance for their region. Despite the consequences of natural and human-caused disasters of this magnitude, research on the ways in which individuals respond is limited, particularly within the discipline of political science. As such, this research is tailored to help us better understand the ways in which social context shapes human reaction to catastrophe. Given the dynamic and unpredictable of this crisis, the results will be of interest to academic scholars, but will also have a broader impact, given their relevance to public officials and others interested in disaster response and management.