Disaster, Response, and Recovery As psychological scientists’
understanding of traumatic events improves, so might the
psychological outcomes of people who endure trauma. That hopeful
thread connected the talks in the “Disaster, Response, and
Recovery” theme program at the 24th APS Annual Convention. “Most
people are exposed to what we consider traumatic events at least
several times in their life,” said George Bonanno of Columbia
University, who set the tone for the program with a question.
“Is disaster psychologically harmful to everyone?” Bonanno has
demonstrated through statistical modeling that humans are
actually quite resilient in the face of disastrous events. While
disasters can cause major psychological trauma that can’t be
fixed with a quick and easy solution, over time most people
demonstrate an impressive ability to rebound from a frightening
incident. Data over the years have revealed four patterns of
response to traumatic events, Bonanno said. The most severe is
chronic dysfunction, often manif