Hurricane Deathtron 3000 | rebroadcast

Clicksuasion Labs

Fear-based messages are likely to be persuasive; however, “full-fear” could backfire and damage the message’s impact. Hurricanes are also fearful, but most people prefer to remain in their homes when a named-storm is approaching.

During this episode, Hurricane Deathtron 3000, Dr. Michael Barbera, and Clicksuasion contributors Cara Cuite and Rebecca Morss discuss how fear-based messages and hurricane names could persuade people to evacuate.

Dr. Rebecca E. Morss is a Senior Scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, where she is also Deputy Director of the Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Laboratory. She has interdisciplinary expertise in weather forecasting systems and risk communication, with an emphasis on high-impact weather including hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes. Her research focuses on the communication and interpretation of hazardous weather risks, the use of uncertain weather-related information in decision making, and weather hazard prediction and predictability. She has served in multiple national and international leadership roles, including on several U.S. National Academies of Science and Engineering committees and as an elected Councilor of the American Meteorological Society. Dr. Morss received a B.A. from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Cara Cuite is an Assistant Extension Specialist in the Department of Human Ecology at Rutgers University. Dr. Cuite is a health psychologist who studies community food security, risk communication and public perceptions of food-related issues, including food safety and genetically engineered foods. Recent projects have focused on communicating about weather-related emergencies as well as interventions to reduce household food, energy, and water use. Her work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Center for Food Protection and Defense, New Jersey Sea Grant, and Johnson & Johnson. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Rutgers University and a B.S. in Psychology and Modern Languages from Union College.