The effects of a person's positive attitude on his or her ability to cope after a natural disaster are the subject of research in Wellington.
A study will survey 2,500 homes in the capital's eastern suburbs because of the greater earthquake and tsunami risks in the area.
Residents will be asked about how they cope with adversity, and for their personal approach to disaster planning.
Research leader Monica Gowan says people, faced with a natural disaster, should be neither gripped with fear nor filled with false confidence.
Ms Gowan says people think a lot about physical preparedness but less about re-establishing their lives after a disaster.
