Severe Weather Psychology, Part 2

A psychology PhD student from the University of Sheffield shares her initial observations on how well local people understand the behavior of tornadoes. Christie Nicholson reports

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Below is the original script. But a few changes may have been made during the recording of this audio podcast.]

This is the second half of a special 60-Second Psych on the psychology of tornadoes.

Jacqui Wilmshurst, from the University of Sheffield, studies human reactions to severe storms. This summer I caught up to her as she was traveling alongside VORTEX2 the largest study of tornadoes in history.


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Stepping off previous research she’s done in hurricane and flood risk areas, one idea she’s exploring is how well the local knowledge matches information based on scientific study. Some knowledge matched well, some bordered on folklore.

[The complete transcript of this special episode will be posted within the week.]

Christie Nicholson reports

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