WHEN GOVERNMENT CONFIDENCE UNDERMINES PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT IN MODERN DISASTERS

As our global community increases in complexity, crises and disasters-such as global financial meltdowns and natural disasters-increasingly have the ability to impact millions of lives. Because of the scale and complexity of these issues, they are seemingly beyond comprehension and personal control. As such, people may rely on the government as a psychological crutch, thus undermining their own engagement with and understanding of crises and disasters. In the context of the present economic crisis (Study 1) and the 2010 BP oil crisis in the Gulf of Mexico (Study 2) the current research provides evidence for the idea that when perceptions of government competency and agency are high, people become less inclined to learn about and become engaged in crises and disasters.