Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2025
08:37
Developing a Virtual Reality Video Game to Simulate Rip Currents
Published on: July 16, 2020
5.7K
Awareness without learning: A preliminary study exploring the effects of beachgoer's experiences on risk taking
Peter Kamstra1, Brian R Cook1, Robert W Brander2
1School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia.
Heliyon
|December 23, 2022
Summary
Beachgoers want to learn surf safety skills from lifeguards. This knowledge could help prevent drownings at unpatrolled beaches, offering a new approach to coastal safety.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Coastal Safety
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Most drowning deaths in Australia occur on unpatrolled beaches.
- Patrolled beaches with lifeguards significantly reduce drowning incidents.
- Current risk prevention focuses on awareness at unpatrolled beaches, neglecting learning transfer.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore beachgoer risk perceptions at a patrolled beach.
- To investigate how experiences and lifeguard interactions influence beachgoer behavior.
- To assess the potential for skill transfer from patrolled to unpatrolled beaches.
Main Methods:
- Preliminary study conducted in Gerroa, Australia.
- Mixed survey-interview methodology employed.
- 49 beachgoers engaged to gather data on risk perception and behavior.
Main Results:
- Beachgoers are aware of the 'swim between the flags' rule but lack understanding of flag placement rationale.
- A significant finding is the expressed desire for skills-based learning directly from lifeguards.
- Participants indicated a willingness to develop skills that could transfer to unpatrolled beach environments.
Conclusions:
- Beachgoers demonstrate a reflective desire for skill development in coastal safety.
- A skills-based community engagement model with lifeguards shows promise for risk reduction.
- This approach offers a potential alternative to current awareness-raising methods for preventing beach drownings.
More Related Videos
05:33Measuring Biophysical and Psychological Stress Levels Following Visitation to Three Locations with Differing Levels of Nature
Published on: June 19, 2019
8.6K
13:04Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods
Published on: September 19, 2012
12.2K
Related Concept Videos
00:57Deindividuation
26.6K
Deindividuation is a form of social influence on an individual’s behavior such that the individual engages in unusual or non-normal behavior while in a group setting. Why? Because in these group settings, the individual no longer sees themselves as an individual anymore, disinhibiting their behavior and personal restraint.
26.6K
01:23Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
156
Biopharmaceutical studies constitute a vital field aiming to enhance drug delivery methods and refine therapeutic approaches, drawing upon diverse interdisciplinary knowledge. In research methodologies, the choice between controlled and non-controlled studies significantly influences the study's reliability and accuracy.
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...
156
02:05Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping
39.2K
People can go to great lengths to protect their self-image and present themselves in ways that they want others to see them. Sociologist Erving Goffman presented the idea that a person is like an actor on a stage. Calling his theory dramaturgy, Goffman believed that we use “impression management” to present ourselves to others as we hope to be perceived. Each situation is a new scene, and individuals perform different roles depending on who is present (Goffman, 1959). Think about...
39.2K
02:10Social Scripts
9.5K
People tend to know what behavior is expected of them in specific, familiar settings. A script is a person’s knowledge about the sequence of events expected in a specific setting (Schank & Abelson, 1977). Essentially, scripts are a particular kind of schema, one containing default values for the features within an event. In the restaurant example, the script's features include the props (e.g., tables, menu, food, and money), the roles to be played (e.g., customer and waiter),...
9.5K
02:30Naturalistic Observations
15.6K
If you want to understand how behavior occurs, one of the best ways to gain information is to simply observe the behavior in its natural context. However, people might change their behavior in unexpected ways if they know they are being observed. How do researchers obtain accurate information when people tend to hide their natural behavior? As an example, imagine that your professor asks everyone in your class to raise their hand if they always wash their hands after using the restroom. Chances...
15.6K
02:09Bystander Effect
9.6K
The discussion of bullying highlights the problem of witnesses not intervening to help a victim. This is a common occurrence, as the following well-publicized event demonstrates. In 1964, in Queens, New York, a 19-year-old woman named Kitty Genovese was attacked by a person with a knife near the back entrance to her apartment building and again in the hallway inside her apartment building. When the attack occurred, she screamed for help numerous times and eventually died from her stab wounds.
9.6K