ABSTRACT

A sizable body of research has explored information seeking processes during crises and disasters, including the ways in which people seek mediated information to help make sense of the event and take action. Much of this research has postulated that information seeking is used as a mechanism for stress reduction, and that sex differences exist in terms of information seeking and risk perceptions. The current study attempted to explicate these links in the context of the 2018 California wildfires. While evidence was found for differential patterns of information seeking across sex and degree of risk perception, evidence did not support the notion that aggregate information seeking leads to a reduction in stress. Alternative theoretical explanations for sex differences in crisis information seeking and stress responses are proposed and discussed, as are implications for crisis managers and emergency responders.

摘要

大量研究探索了危机和灾难期间的信息搜寻过程，包括人们寻求中介信息以帮助理解事件并采取行动的方式。大部分研究假设信息搜寻被用作减轻压力的机制，并且在信息搜寻和风险感知方面存在性别差异。当前的研究试图在 2018 年加州野火的背景下阐明这些联系。虽然发现了跨性别和风险感知程度的不同信息寻求模式的证据，但证据并不支持汇总信息寻求导致压力减轻的观点。提出并讨论了危机信息寻求和压力反应中性别差异的替代理论解释，