The sociology part befuddles me. False alarms are annoying, yes, but to hear the sirens and not at least check what was going on...is beyond me. I watched (via computer) the storm that hit Joplin and it was obvious it wasn’t a false alarm.
That said, I have grabbed a camera and headed outdoors after checking where the rotation was located and listening to a trusted local meteorologist. Of course, the kids and pets were already safe in the storm shelter at the time.
Heck, look at Katrina. Just the year before, Ivan was heading towards NOLA and turned to the right at the last minute. Too many people thought that would happen again - and it did to an extent, but Katrina was so massive that it took out NOLA with a backhand blow.
And for all the talk of people being unable to evacuate, over half those found dead in NOLA after Katrina had a car in their driveway. They made the choice to stay and paid with their lives.
In the end, it comes down to the psychology of the fact that, in the name of prudence, forecasters issue a lot of warnings where nothing comes to pass, which lulls people into a sense of apathy. And IMO there is no good answer to that.