Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Fundamental Attribution Error

Fundamental Attribution Error

According to some social psychologists, people tend to overemphasize internal factors as explanations—or attributions—for the behavior of other people. They tend to assume that the behavior of another person is a trait of that person, and to underestimate the power of the situation on the behavior of others. They tend to fail to recognize when the behavior of another is due to situational variables, and thus to the person’s state. This erroneous assumption is called the fundamental attribution...

Applications of GIS: Disaster Management and Emergency Response

Applications of GIS: Disaster Management and Emergency Response

Geographic Information System (GIS) technology is essential for risk identification, action prioritization, and resource optimization in critical situations like flooding and earthquakes. By integrating spatial and demographic data, GIS provides a comprehensive framework for emergency response.GIS integrates data layers, like rainfall intensity, topography, elevation profiles, and river levels, to model high-risk flood zones. These layers assess areas susceptible to flooding based on their...

Schemas

Schemas

A schema is a mental construct consisting of a cluster or collection of related concepts (Bartlett, 1932). There are many different types of schemata, and they all have one thing in common: schemata are a method of organizing information that allows the brain to work more efficiently. When a schema is activated, the brain makes immediate assumptions about the person or object being observed.

Barriers to Effective Communication I

Barriers to Effective Communication I

A communication barrier is any distortion or interruption during a conversation, resulting in miscommunication of the message. A good communicator should know these barriers and continuously check for the listener's understanding by obtaining feedback.
Communication barriers include the following:
Physiological barriers: They are limitations caused by a person's health condition or disability, such as hearing loss, poor eyesight, illness, or unconsciousness. An example to overcome this barrier...

The Availability Heuristic

The Availability Heuristic

A heuristic is a general problem-solving framework (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). You can think of these as mental shortcuts that are used to solve problems. Different types of heuristics are used in different types of situations, and the impulse to use a heuristic occurs when one of five conditions is met (Pratkanis, 1989):

Hindsight Biases

Hindsight Biases

Hindsight bias leads you to believe that the event you just experienced was predictable, even though it really wasn’t. In other words, you knew all along that things would turn out the way they did. Can you relate this to the phrase "Hindsight is 20/20" now?

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

A century and a half of research on the evolution of insect flight.

Arthropod structure & development·2017

Same author

Social media in disaster risk reduction and crisis management.

Science and engineering ethics·2013

Same author

Normalized lift: an energy interpretation of the lift coefficient simplifies comparisons of the lifting ability of rotating and flapping surfaces.

PloS one·2012

Same author

Model tests of gliding with different hindwing configurations in the four-winged dromaeosaurid Microraptor gui.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2010

Same author

Ancient Argentavis soars again.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2007

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories

Published on: November 14, 2018

Misconception as a barrier to teaching about disasters.

David E Alexander¹

¹CESPRO Centre for Civil Protection Studies, Faculty of Medicine, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy. david.alexander@unifi.it

Prehospital and Disaster Medicine

|June 27, 2007

Summary

Students and emergency workers widely believe disaster myths, such as the health hazard of dead bodies, challenging effective disaster management education. These misconceptions persist despite expert refutation.

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories

Published on: November 14, 2018

Area of Science:

Disaster management
Emergency response
Public perception of disasters

Background:

Investigates common myths and misconceptions about disasters.
Focuses on beliefs held by university students and trainee emergency workers.

Purpose of the Study:

To assess the prevalence of disaster myths among students and emergency workers.
To understand the extent to which common misconceptions influence disaster preparedness and response perceptions.

Main Methods:

Administered a questionnaire with 19 statements on disaster myths.
Utilized a Likert scale to measure agreement/disagreement with misconceptions.
Included participants from the University of Massachusetts and Italian emergency worker trainees.

Main Results:

Strong belief in myths like widespread panic/looting and health hazards from dead bodies.
Less conviction in myths such as disasters being unmanageable.
Ambivalent attitudes towards technology as a disaster solution.

Conclusions:

Disaster myths persist among students and emergency workers globally.
Mass media perpetuates these misconceptions, posing educational challenges.
Addressing these deeply ingrained beliefs is crucial for effective disaster and emergency training.