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Risk Perceptions and Terror Management Theory: Assessing Public Responses to Urban Flooding in Toronto, Canada

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  • Carolyn Mann

    (University of Waterloo)

  • S. E. Wolfe

    (University of Waterloo)

Abstract

Terror Management Theory (TMT) suggests that mortality salience (MS), or death reminders, should impact environmental behaviour and decision-making by increasing consumption and resource usage, shifting aesthetic preferences toward cultivated landscapes, and affecting adherence to environmental norms. We examined MS effects on residential flood risk perceptions in Toronto, Canada, following the major urban flood in July 2013. Survey responses were analyzed to assess risk perceptions across nine categories; analyses through the Wilcoxon-Mann–Whitney test show statistically insignificant differences between MS and control groups for all subcategories. Coupled with the TMT literature, the results indicate that existential anxiety is more likely to affect flood risk perceptions through worldview defense when the social dimension of flooding is made clear. Toronto residents’ societal beliefs about flooding play a major role in guiding flood management strategies. Our results provide scholarly and practical direction for flood risk communication strategies to promote the adoption of private flood-prevention measures, suggesting that anthropocentric framing of flooding issues will not induce negative environmental behaviour and may increase concern for flooding issues.

Suggested Citation

  • Carolyn Mann & S. E. Wolfe, 2016. "Risk Perceptions and Terror Management Theory: Assessing Public Responses to Urban Flooding in Toronto, Canada," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(8), pages 2651-2670, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:30:y:2016:i:8:d:10.1007_s11269-016-1308-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11269-016-1308-8
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    1. Rahimah, Anni & Khalil, Shadab & Dang, Huu Phuc & Ming-Sung Cheng, Julian, 2020. "The terror of death and consumers’ sustainability attitudes," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    2. Islam Elgammal & Obaid Al-Modaf, 2023. "The Antecedent of the Sustainable Purchasing Attitudes among Generation Z: A Terror Management Theory Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-19, June.
    3. Robyn S. Wilson & Adam Zwickle & Hugh Walpole, 2019. "Developing a Broadly Applicable Measure of Risk Perception," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(4), pages 777-791, April.

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