公共事業についての情報探索行動の違いとその影響要因: 原子力発電施設の事故直後と平常時の比較 A nuclear power facility

• Published in: Journal of human environmental studies Vol. 15; no. 2; p. 135
• Main Authors: Ohana, Kyosuke, Fujii, Satoshi, Maeda, Hiroe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Osaka Japan Science and Technology Agency 01.01.2017
• Subjects: Cognition; College faculty; Crises; Earthquakes; Information seeking behavior; Norms; Nuclear energy; Seismic activity; Size of enterprise; Social interactions
• DOI: 10.4189/shes.15.135
• ISSN: 1348-5253

The purpose of this research was to understand and determine factors that affect information-seeking behavior of a public project, especially a nuclear power facility. Participants answered a questionnaire. We compared two periods: considering 6 months following the Great East Japan Earthquake as "crisis time" and 6 months preceding our studies (January to July 2015 in Study 1 and May to November 2015 in Study 2) as "ordinary times." The results showed that people sought information to different extents depending on their situations. Participants reported that they sought more external information during the crisis time than in ordinary times in both the studies. Additionally, the results showed that cognition of the possibility of harm did not affect information-seeking behavior. On the other hand, participants who showed high cognition of the possibility of change in social norms engaged more in information-seeking behavior. Based on the results, we have discussed means to improve social acceptance of public projects.