Why does the click-through rate on threatening headlines far exceed those that are more benign? Calling something a threat through a provocative headline or soundbite initiates a biological reaction that almost compels a person to find out more, but why is that? Multnomah County, OR Chief Operating Officer Marissa Madrigal (Masters 1605/1606 aka 1611) explores how the process of securitization (declaring something is an external threat) initiates a neurobiological process that often causes people to adopt a ‘better safe than sorry’ posture when deciding what actions to take in response to the perceived threat. Her research found evidence that this behavior is having an impact on homeland security-related decisions by creating a bias toward compulsive precautionary behavior rather than clear-minded cognitive reassessment and that our predictable behavior can be used against us.
COVID19 has swept the globe in little more than 3 months. Health officials have enacted quarantine orders to reduce the disease’s spread but who...
Reports of police use of excessive force appear weekly in the media and have generated outrage in many communities. Officers actions are currently judged...
Providing perfect security in an era of unbounded risk is impossible. In my interview with Jack Anderson (Masters 1401), we talk about caribou scapula...
