As climate conditions intensify fire seasons, human exposure to wildfire smoke becomes a more significant concern, posing health risks and disrupting emotional and social well-being. Academic literature exploring how people perceive and respond to wildfire smoke has grown rapidly in the past decade. We conducted this systematic review with three objectives: to characterize the topical, geographic, and disciplinary focus of existing research, examine the application of established behavioral theories to smoke protection behaviors, and identify emergent themes and research gaps. Following PRISMA standards, we systematically reviewed papers focusing on individual-level human perception or behavioral responses to wildfire smoke events. We extracted information on eight psychosocial constructs across three levels: intrapersonal (cognitive processes: emotions, threat appraisal, coping appraisal), interpersonal (social influences: social networks, social norms), and contextual factors (past experience, access to information, demographic attributes). Our review of 39 studies reveals an emerging field concentrated in the Western US and dominated by public health perspectives. Only ten studies employed explicit theoretical models. We found complex relationships between psychosocial constructs: while people generally recognize smoke as threatening, the relationship between threat perception and protective action remains complex, with mixed findings regarding past experience and coping appraisal. Social networks play a paradoxical role, providing crucial support during smoke events while being disrupted by smoke-induced isolation that prevents normal social gathering. Social norms around smoke protection remain underexplored. Socially vulnerable populations are underrepresented despite facing heightened exposure risks. We identify significant research gaps regarding emotional responses, social norms, and community-level interventions. Enhanced understanding of wildfire smoke responses can improve interventions and policies to promote public health and community adaptation to wildfire smoke.

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