“It’s unlikely to even be in the top ten”: scientists have revealed a lack of fear of earthquakes among residents of Kamchatka
Residents of Kamchatka do not attach much importance to earthquakes, although tremors are regularly observed on the peninsula. This was found out by scientists from KamSU named after. Vitus Bering. The authors of the study concluded that this is how psychological defense mechanisms work: people adapted to the feeling of danger, and it stopped causing stress. At the same time, living in an earthquake-prone region, paradoxically, does not affect the willingness of residents to properly respond in the event of natural disasters, scientists note.
Russian scientists from the Vitus Bering Kamchatka State University have found that the population of Kamchatka has virtually no fear of earthquakes, although the region is located in a zone of increased seismic activity.
Such findings refute the established idea that residents of earthquake-prone regions experience stress due to the risk of natural disasters, the university press service reported.
Interestingly, the attitude of Kamchatka residents towards this danger did not change even after the strong earthquake that occurred in the region a year and a half ago, the authors of the work note. Then psychologists conducted additional research, but found that the level of anxiety among residents of the peninsula did not increase.
“We studied the population’s reaction to seismic hazard, trying to understand to what extent it is a real stress factor for the residents of Kamchatka. It turned out that people are not afraid of earthquakes, at least at the level of cognitive reflection. Seismic hazard is unlikely to even be included in the top ten factors that truly reduce the feeling of psychological well-being,” Yulia Neyaskina, associate professor of the department of theoretical and practical psychology at KamSU, explained to RT.
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Scientists associate this with psychological defense mechanisms: a person cannot constantly live in a sense of danger, gradually the severity of its perception decreases, and it ceases to cause stress.
At the same time, living in a region where natural disasters can occur, paradoxically, has virtually no effect on people’s preparedness for such situations. Although Kamchatka residents are well aware of how to act in the event of an earthquake or eruption, in practice this knowledge is used extremely rarely, and people’s behavior becomes unpredictable.
“There is a discrepancy between cognitive readiness for extreme situations and affective reactions at the time of their occurrence. With a fairly high level of theoretical preparedness of the population for a seismic event, emotional and behavioral reactions in a real danger situation are characterized by a high degree of variability and unpredictability,” added Neyaskina.
As part of the study, scientists also identified factors that help Kamchatka residents remain optimistic in extreme natural conditions. Psychologists included such factors as meaningfulness of life and an active life position, as well as the beauty of local nature. According to experts, it is the nature of Kamchatka that often becomes a resource that helps people overcome difficulties.
The data obtained by scientists can be useful for understanding the psychology of residents of earthquake-prone regions, as well as for developing effective strategies for preparing the population for possible natural disasters.
