Sample interview questions: How would you design a study to examine the impact of environmental factors on individuals’ perceived natural hazards and risks?
Sample answer:
Experimental Design:
- Participants: Recruit a diverse sample of individuals from different socio-economic backgrounds, demographics, and regions with varying exposure to natural hazards.
- Control Group: Establish a control group that is not exposed to any specific environmental factors or hazard simulations.
- Experimental Group: Divide participants randomly into groups exposed to different environmental factors hypothesized to influence risk perception. For example, participants could be exposed to simulations of floods, earthquakes, or wildfires.
- Environmental Manipulation: Carefully design the environmental manipulations to ensure they accurately represent the real-world hazards under study. Utilize virtual reality, immersive simulations, or field experiments to create immersive and realistic experiences.
- Baseline Assessment: Conduct baseline measurements of perceived natural hazards and risks prior to environmental manipulation.
- Post-Exposure Assessment: Measure changes in perceived hazards and risks after exposure to the environmental factors.
- Control for Covariates: Account for potential confounding variables such as age, gender, education, and previous hazard experience.
Data Collection:
- Likert-Type Scales: Use 5-point Likert-type scales to measure participants’ perceived severity, likelihood, and susceptibility to specific natural hazards.
- Open-Ended Questions: Read full answer
Source: https://hireabo.com/job/7_0_16/Environmental%20Psychologist