Tenessa Hi Tenessa, Good question. Most older cultures seem to accept volcanoes as a natural part of life and adjust their habits accordingly.
Modern cultures tend to try to force nature into doing what they want.
For example, the diversion of lava flows in Hawaii and Italy. I wish I could answer your question better. People in places where eruptions are less common events, like in the continental US, seem to have greater difficult in adjusting to eruptions.