Decision-Making of Middle School Students during an Earthquake

The foreknowledge of peoples' decision-making process during an earthquake may give important clues as to whether or not their decisions will yield secure results. In the context of earthquake education, drawing upon these clues can potentially minimize the loss of life during earthquakes to a certain extent. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine decision-making process of students during an earthquake. The research was carried out in Giresun, Turkey. One hundred twenty-two (122) eighth grade students from three middle schools were included the study as a sample base. Three decision trees were developed in order to understand students' decision process (es). Students gave their answers on the three decision trees, whereupon their answers were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results of the study showed that some students during an earthquake chose secure options, whilst others preferred options that can lead to negative results. Students’ desire to escape from their locations during an earthquake was found to be the most common, but also the most unsafe decision. A number of other students, however, had opted to take a dangerous protection position during an earthquake. It was concluded that excessive fear of earthquakes and the negative influence of the media both have an effect on making unsafe decisions. The study suggested that people ought to be assured that there is a low possibility of buildings completely collapsing during an earthquake. It also recommended that people should take non-structural rather than structural risks into consideration during an earthquake, and that they ought to base their make decisions according to these risks.