Huh. My default reaction during an emergency is to freeze out like a deer in the headlights.
It seems to me that this is related to the idea of roles. If you don't see yourself as being responsible for handling emergencies, you probably won't do anything about them, hoping someone else will. But if you do see yourself as being the person responsible for handling a crisis situation, then you're a lot more likely to do something about it, because you've taken that responsibility upon yourself.
It's a particularly nuanced response to both take that kind of responsibility for a situation, and then, after carefully evaluating the options, decide that ...
Another month, another rationality quotes thread. The rules are: