





CREATE’s behavioral decision-making researchers investigate the dynamic relationships between public response, societal consequences, and risk and crisis communication in the event of a disaster.
Our research improves understanding of how the public perceives the risk associated with disasters (both terror and non-terror) and behavioral decision-making. CREATE uses insights from psychology, economics, and other behavioral and social sciences to assess risk perceptions and associated decisions, as well as to design and evaluate risk communication and intervention to inform those decisions.
Researchers
Wändi Bruine de Bruin
Wändi Bruine de Bruin is a Provost Professor of Public Policy, Psychology, and Behavioral Science. Across USC, she holds affiliations with the Sol Price School of Public Policy, the Department of Psychology,
Eli Berman
Eli Berman is a professor in the Department of Economics at the University of California, San Diego. He is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research…


Williams Burns
William Burns completed his Ph.D. at the University of Oregon in Decision Science and subsequently held positions as a professor at the University of Iowa and UC Davis before moving to San Diego…


Robin Dillon-Merrill
Robin Dillon-Merrill is a Professor in the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and Area Coordinator for the Operations and Information Management Group. Professor…


Scott Farrow
Scott Farrow is a Professor in the Department of Economics at UMBC, a branch of the University of Maryland and a Research Fellow at CREATE. Previously Dr. Farrow…


Richard John
Richard John serves as the Associate Director for Research at CREATE, professor in the Department of Psychology at the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences at USC…


Heather Rosoff
Heather Rosoff's research focuses on using risk and decision analytic techniques to study the uncertainties surrounding terrorism. More specifically, her risk perception…


Paul Slovic
Paul Slovic studies judgment and decision processes with an emphasis on decision making under conditions of risk. His work examines fundamental issues such as the influence of…


Detlof von Winterfeldt
Detlof von Winterfeldt is a Professor at the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering of the Viterbi School of Engineering and a Professor of Public Policy and Management…
Sample Papers
Thrift, S. and D. von Winterfeldt. 2020. “Risk Informed Benefit-Cost Analysis for Homeland Security RandD: Methodology and an Application to Evaluating the Advanced Personal Protection System for Wildland Firefighters,” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, forthcoming.
Nagamatsu, S., A. Rose and J. Eyer. 2020. “Return Migration and Decontamination after the 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accidents,” Risk Analysis 40(4): 800-17 doi.org/10.1111/risa.13432