Article Out Loud – The Optimism Bias Trap: Rethinking Threat Preparedness

This is an article by Joshua Sullivan, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, August 6, 2025. Mass violence increasingly targets ordinary people performing routine duties in uniform, behind the wheel of marked vehicles, or responding to emergency calls. This evolution in tactics calls for a fundamental reassessment of preparedness strategies. Learn how to rethink preparedness and avoid the troubling obstacle that remains within many public safety agencies: optimism bias. Now to the featured article.