Researchers use phone records to measure “hedonic behavior” in earthquake victims.
It’s challenging to recover from a significant earthquake, even if you aren’t seriously hurt. In the wake of an earthquake, people can feel better by honoring the dead, rebuilding, and reconnecting with loved ones. There’s a tactic that’s not been given much attention, though: having fun.
Researchers wondered if smartphone apps would provide insight into the behavior of survivors after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck parts of Sichuan in China. After analyzing the cell phone use of over 157,000 Sichuan citizens and interviewing hundreds of survivors, Stanford’s Graduate School of Business professors and three other universities concluded that “having a good time is important in reducing the negative psychological effects of disaster.”
The study, which will be published soon, concluded that using enjoyable apps such as online shopping, music, and games reduces anxiety. “Too much communication, like blanket media coverage or incessantly checking news sites, can increase people’s fear,” said Baba Shiv, a Stanford GSB Professor of Marketing who coauthored this study.
“That doesn’t mean people shouldn’t receive information following a disaster.” We believe the morale of the survivors is often neglected,” says Jayson Jiaopens, an assistant professor of Marketing at the University of Hong Kong and the study’s lead author.
Researchers had a wealth of data at their disposal. Three months’ anonymized records of cell phone activity — including voice calls, texts, web browsing, and mobile apps — revealed what applications were used before and after the earthquake. The data also showed where users lived.
Researchers compared this information with detailed records of the earthquake, allowing them to calculate how much shaking was experienced by each user. They also interviewed 800 survivors to determine whether they felt at greater or lesser risk one week after the shaking had stopped.
The results were stunning. The results were striking. Survivors who lived in the areas with the most severe shaking used mobile applications more and for longer than anyone else. Researchers write that only hedonic behavior (pleasant) can reduce the perceived risk and the adverse psychological effects of a disaster.
It isn’t easy to gauge how someone feels when they are hedonic in their online behavior. Jia, a Stanford GSB PhD who graduated in 2013, says the findings “are statistically very significant,” and there is a less than 5-in-1 000 chance of getting it wrong.
No shame in enjoying yourself
Researchers hope their findings will inspire public health officials to rethink post-disaster strategy: “We observed an entire population engage psychologically adaptive behaviors that reduced their perceived risks,” they write. The challenge is to get people to engage in hedonistic activities as well.
Jia points out that, although the study does not explore how this might occur, people who indulge in entertainment after a catastrophe are often shamed by their fellow survivors. He says that allowing football matches to continue could be more beneficial than postponing them.
Shiv points out that the USO improved the morale and health of combat troops during World War II and the Vietnam War.
The results of the earthquake study are consistent with previous research on how people cope after disasters. Shiv and his colleagues at Duke University reported that after September 11, 2001, people increased their overeating, quit dieting, drinking, smoking, and time spent with friends and family, and shopping and attending church.
Shiv says that most of the work done on disaster recovery is based on laboratory studies. The earthquake paper, based on thousands of people’s experiences, represents a significant departure. He says, “The skeptic within me has always wondered if [the effects both papers revealed] are manifested in the real world.” This confirmed it. “The strength of the correlation was surprising to me.”