A better understanding of our reaction to humanitarian crises

New research led by UCL academics suggests that our response to disasters depends partly on the range of death tolls we are usually exposed to. Millions of lives are lost around the world each year to accidents, terrorist attacks, wars, epidemics and natural disasters. What's more, the prediction is that climate change will increase the number and intensity of some of these events. Newly published research from the ESRC Centre for Economic Learning and Social Evolution (ELSE) at UCL suggests that the way people - whether members of the public or policymakers - react when faced with human fatalities is highly dependent on the distribution of death tolls they are typically exposed to. The findings could have important implications for multi-lateral donors, national governments, aid agencies and the press in terms of planning for, fundraising for, reporting on and responding to such emergencies. Reactions to tragic events depend largely on the size of their associated death tolls. A disaster involving millions of victims tends to produce a bigger response than one that impacts on tens of thousands of our fellow humans.