@article {BF-4307, title = {Communicating Risk Information Processing Under Stress: Community Reactions - project report 2012-2013}, year = {2014}, month = {2014}, pages = {1-74}, abstract = {The Information Processing Under Stress: Community Reactions project sits within the research stream called {\textquoteleft}Communicating Risk{\textquoteright}. The project has a focus on increasing our understanding of how residents living in bushfire prone areas can be motivated to prepare better for the bushfire season and make better decisions when a fire threatens their community. The project entails a variety of research phases that aim to answer questions such as {\textquoteleft}Why do so many people anticipate responding indecisively when a fire threatens their community?{\textquoteright}, {\textquoteleft}Why do people fail to properly prepare for the fire season even when they intend to do so at the start?{\textquoteright}, {\textquoteleft}How can information and feedback regarding residents{\textquoteright} preparedness best be presented to them to motivate them to prepare further?{\textquoteright} and {\textquoteleft}Does the effectiveness of certain message framings in heightening preparedness levels depend on person characteristics?{\textquoteright}. More specific, the project contains 8 phases of quantitative research, which all focus on different factors, both situational (e.g., message framing) and personality (e.g., high versus low anxiety individuals) based, that may be linked to people{\textquoteright}s motivation, expectations, and information processing, and influence their subsequent decision making and actions. The main goal of these 8 phases of research is to gather a better understanding of what preparedness is, how different types of information may influence people{\textquoteright}s willingness to prepare, and how different people may react differently to the same piece of information. }, author = {Ilona M McNeill and Patrick Dunlop and T.C. Skinner and David Morrison} }