Psychological Aspects of Disaster

This paper is concerned with the psychological problems of massive traumatic situations with particular emphasis on the probabilities for noneffective behavior in a disaster produced by nuclear weapons. Man has been threatened by or subjected to episodes of catastrophic trauma since recorded history. In more recent years there has been reported a considerable body of data relative to the behavior of groups and individuals under disaster conditions. Such data include numerous observations and studies of (1) combat personnel in World War I, World War II, and Korea¹; (2) the effects of massive aerial bombardment against population centers²; (3) spontaneous civilian disasters such as fires, explosions, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods³; and (4) the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.⁴From these extensive and varied experiences it is possible to construct theoretical models that illustrate general conclusions regarding behavior under external stress which may be useful in delineating