Methods and Insights on How to Explore Human Behavior in the Disaster Environment

This chapter explores the research methodologies and insights currently used by and envisioned for the future research into human behavior in disaster environments and situations, from a behavioral economics viewpoint. This includes comparative and narrative analysis, experiments (field, laboratory, and natural), multivariate regression analysis, simulations, and the use of technology such as virtual reality. The chapter also explores a number of methods that have been in widespread use to understand individuals’ behavior and preferences within a disaster and some of the limitations and factors that have made them unsuitable for understanding behavior. These limitations include sample bias, missing data, small sample sizes, and a lack of predictive power.