THE ROLE OF SEARCHING IN SHAPING REACTIONS TO EARTHQUAKE RISK INFORMATION

We assessed public response to an earthquake prediction for the San Fr ancisco, Bay Area on a sample of households from eight Bay Area counti es. Descriptive findings suggested that an earthquake culture exists i n the study population. We tested criticisms of interactionist theory - its failure to take motives for behavior and social position into ac count - using multiple regression analysis. We conclude that motives a nd social position matter little in determining social action, and tha t more work is needed to determine how variations in new information c reate ambiguity, which differentially fosters searching, the formation of alternative definitions, and subsequent action.