Title: Cognition towards crisis: the blind man held a handful of snow … and concluded that white was cold

Authors: Jean-Marie Jacques, Maryline Specht

Addresses: Research Center for Crisis and Conflict Management (ReCCCoM), Facultes Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix (University of Namur), 8 Rempart de la vierge, 5000 Namur, Belgium. ' Laboratoire de Psychologie Environnementale, Universite Rene Descartes – Paris 5, Sciences Humaines – Sorbonne, 71 Avenue Edouard Vaillant, 92 000 Boulogne – Billancourt, France

Abstract: This paper analyses organisational structures and the relations and symbols through individual and collective cognition. We specify forms of sensemaking within the crisis process. Sensemaking, as a general perspective within the framework of organisational meaning, confers explanation of crisis. In addition, facts and their cognitive interpretations one by one highlight concrete phenomena and events| chaining through crisis. Factual phenomena can be seen as the multiple elements supporting sensemaking within the organisation: machines, software, technical environments and systems. Cognitive phenomena are related to human perceptions and representations. This expresses the potential of the framework to embrace a mechanical perspective, a structuro-functionalist and cognitive one. We indeed advocate for psychological training addressing sensemaking as a major asset for crisis management.

Keywords: crisis management; risk perception; cognitive mapping; accident generation; psychological training; emergency management; cognition; sensemaking.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEM.2006.010278

International Journal of Emergency Management, 2006 Vol.3 No.1, pp.21 - 39

Published online: 12 Jul 2006 *

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