Comment | Psychology of Disaster
For the first 2½ hours, journalist Amanda Ripley discussed the psychology of disaster response and her new book, The Unthinkable. When a person encounters a disastrous circumstance they may first react with disbelief or denial, as the brain tries to normalize the situation, she explained. Under extreme stress, a person can experience time distortion, with events slowing down or speeding up.
In a desperate situation, strangers often become more generous with each other, and people support each other as a group, she detailed. Blue collar men without children are the most likely to perform risky, heroic acts, while women are more likely to survive severe storms such as hurricanes, because they are willing to evacuate, Ripley reported.
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