Natural hazards and interpersonal trust (TRUST)

Interpersonal trust (the representation that another agent is a reliable and supportive partner) is at the basis of the most elementary collaborative activities, and a foundation of society as we know it. In times of disasters, social cohesion may suffer. In some circumstances however, disasters bring communities together and foster social cohesion. How is interpersonal trust affected by the imminence of a disaster? What happens to interpersonal trust in the aftermath of a disaster? The scientific literature on trust in times of disaster is vast but (i) almost exclusively focus on vertical interpersonal trust (i.e., trust in authorities) and may have neglected horizontal trust (i.e., trust in our other ordinary citizens, either familiar individuals or strangers); (ii) almost exclusively rely on measures of trust based on self-reports, rather than actual behaviors. In this project, we propose to develop a comprehensive and original battery of tests to measure horizontal interpersonal trust, and to track it across a number of populations (including various age-classes and socioeconomic status) and field sites so as to quantify the extent to which past experience of disasters, and the imminence of new ones can affect basic levels of horizontal interpersonal trust. We propose to take advantage of the diversity of field sites developed by our companion labs of the Clermont Risk Center (i.e., the LMV and CERDI), offering a unique opportunity for transdisciplinary collaboration.

Volcanic disasters are highly relevant in this respect, for they are prone to affect people from a great number of cultural settings, and pose significant risks to communities over large scales. Other types of rapid-occurrence disasters may also be relevant. Following collaborations between members of the CERDI and LMV (e.g., (Choumert & Phelinas, 2018)), as well as between the IRD and the LMV (Le Pennec et al., 2017), we originally proposed to bring the expertise in social psychology and the behavioral sciences developed at the LAPSCO (UCA/CNRS 6024) and work in communities under study by members of the LMV (and sometimes CERDI), notably the Tungurahua (Ecuador) and the Ubinas (Peru). Because of the covid-19 crisis, we focussed on accessible fieldsites around the Etna region, in Sicily. Our research goal has been be threefold:
- To develop an original and comprehensive battery of tests to measure horizontal interpersonal trust;
- To measure horizontal interpersonal trust in communities living in proximity to volcanoes (and further away from them);
- To quantify the amount of variation in interpersonal trust specifically due to life in proximity of volcanoes.

Guillaume DEZECACHE – LAPSCO