Countering fatalism: Causal information in news reports affects judgments about earthquake damage

People are less likely to prepare for earthquakes and other disasters if th ey make fatalistic attributions for earthquake damage. The way that news me dia and public agencies present information about disasters may contribute to fatalistic attributions and judgments that the damage cannot be prevente d. Attribution theory proposes that the distinctiveness and consensus of co varying events shape attributions. Four studies varied the distinctiveness of damage to a target building relative to other buildings and how much oth er earthquakes had damaged similar buildings to the target building (consen sus and consistency). The conditions with high distinctiveness and high con sensus acid consistency enhanced attributions to building design and judgme nts that the damage was preventable. These findings have clear implications for civic education agencies and news reports; they show how agencies coul d reduce fatalism and facilitate preventive action by the way they present information about earthquakes and other disasters.