Compared to the numerous studies on the public’s seismic preparedness, few studies have focused on actual behavioral responses to earthquakes. According to an investigation of immediate public behavioral responses to an earthquake in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region of China, this study found that the public’s response behaviors included two main patterns of self-protection and milling. It reveals that the adoption of a behavioral pattern is the result of a complex interaction of cultural and psychological factors related to fatalism and emotional response. Specifically, fatalism reduces the possibility of an individual engaging in self-protective activities. However, fear motivates a positive response. The findings in this study suggest that earthquake resilience can be enhanced through both cultural pathways and cognitive processes. These findings shed new light on earthquake behavioral science and aid policymakers in developing strategies for disaster education and emergency training, especially for people who hold fatalistic beliefs about disaster risk reduction.
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