none 10.1193/1.4000138 Wiley Wiley (John Wiley & Sons) 311 62693187 5867 2026012504012100638 10.1002 2026-01-25T13:10:36Z 2013-06-13T12:41:46Z 65 Earthquake Spectra Earthquake Spectra 8755-2930 1944-8201 05 2013 29 2 Helene Joffe University College London Division of Psychology &amp; Language Sciences 26 Bedford Way London WC1H 0AP Tiziana Rossetto University College London Department of Civil Environmental &amp; Geomatic Engineering Chadwick Building, Gower Street London WC1E 6BT Christian Solberg University College London Division of Psychology &amp; Language Sciences 26 Bedford Way London WC1H 0AP Cliodhna O'Connor University College London Division of Psychology &amp; Language Sciences 26 Bedford Way London WC1H 0AP Much research on people's seismic adjustment activity in highly seismic areas has assumed that low levels of adjustment are attributable to insufficient awareness of seismic risk. Empirical evidence for this assumption is weak, and there is growing appreciation of the role played by sociocultural and emotional variables in risk perception and behavior. This study explored these socio‐cultural and emotional dimensions via 144 interviews and questionnaires, with matched samples of locals in Seattle (United States), Osaka (Japan), and Izmir (Turkey). The data showed that high awareness of possible seismic adjustment measures was not translated into behavior, with all sites demonstrating low adjustment uptake, though the North Americans adopted significantly more adjustments than the other cultures. Thematic analysis of the interview data suggested that adjustment behavior was undermined by anxiety, distrust, distancing self from earthquake risk and fatalistic beliefs. The paper concludes by recommending how culture‐specific disaster mitigation plans may be developed to address these factors. 05 2013 05 2013 367 397 10.1193/1.4000138 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000266 EP/F012179/1 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/tdm_license_1.1 2 10.1177/sage-journals-update-policy journals.sagepub.com true https://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license 10.1193/1.4000138 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1193/1.4000138 http://sage.cnpereading.com/paragraph/article/?doi=10.1193/1.4000138 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1193/1.4000138 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1193/1.4000138 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1193/1.4000138 https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/earthquake-spectra/article/29/2/367/585528/social-representations-of-earthquakes-a-study-of AkinciA. EyidoğanH. GöktürklerG. 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