Cooperation versus competition in a mass emergency evacuation: A new laboratory simulation and a new theoretical model

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) technology has been argued to be useful in a number of domains of psychological research. This article reports three studies applying this technology for the first time to the field of emergency evacuation behavior, in order to test a new model of such behavior based on the social identity approach.Early research on mass evacuation behavior relied on anecdotal evidence and data from the military (e.g., Strauss, 1944). In the 1950s and 1960s, however, the introduction of new laboratory experimental techniques helped in the development of important theoretical advances. Thus, for example, Mintz's (1951) classic simulation study used a bottle containing several corks on strings held by participants, representing the potential for exit jamming that would take place if every individual tried to evacuate simultaneously. Mintz suggested that ineffectual escape in an evacuating crowd is due to individual calculation of costs and benefits, rather than to a contagious outburst of mass irrationality, as assumed by the early mass panic models (e.g., McDougall, 1920; ANDREW HARDWICK University of Sussex, Brighton, England DANIELLE GRAHAM St. Andrews University, Fife, Scotland AND PAUL LANGSTON University of Nottingham, Nottingham, EnglandVirtual reality technology is argued to be suitable to the simulation study of mass evacuation behavior, because of the practical and ethical constraints in researching this field. This article describes three studies in which a new virtual reality paradigm was used, in which participants had to escape from a burning underground rail station. Study 1 was carried out in an immersion laboratory and demonstrated that collective identification in the crowd was enhanced by the (shared) threat embodied in emergency itself. In Study 2, high-identification participants were more helpful and pushed less than did low-identification participants. In Study 3, identification and group size were experimentally manipulated, and similar results were obtained. These results support a hypothesis according to which (emergent) collective identity motivates solidarity with strangers. It is concluded that the virtual reality technology developed here represents a promising start, although more can be done to embed it in a traditional psychology laboratory setting.

Statistical fluctuations in pedestrian evacuation times and the effect of social contagion

“…To this day, the question of whether this is actually the bottleneck in tragic evacuations remains controversial. A significant portion of the social psychology literature of the last decades questions the prevalence of competitive moves, that is, selfish rushes towards the exit causing clogs [11][12][13][14][15], and hints at pieces of evidence of conserved social norms and cohesive behaviors, such as the will to assist fallen people, in emergencies. Yet, reports on crowd tragedies (see references above) make the occurrence of selfish rushes in some situations unquestionable.…”

Gamelike features might not improve data

“…Some researchers extend this approach by using the development engines of various games to create gamelike environments for the exploration of spatial cognition and social behavior (Alloway, Corley, & Ramscar, 2006;Drury et al, 2009;Frey, Hartig, Ketzel, Zinkernagel, & Moosbrugger, 2007;Gunzelmann & Anderson, 2006;Hutcheson & Wedell, 2009;Radvansky & Copeland, 2006). This type of experiment is less common in cognitive psychology than other gamelike experiments.…”

Modelación y simulación de comportamientos humanos en situaciones de emergencia en un call center: una revisión crítica de literatura

“…Asimismo, se ha encontrado en la simulación un método útil que permite representar situaciones hipotéticas mediante aproximaciones a la realidad [5], [9], [22], [30], [47], [64], [79]- [83]., lo que permitiría realizar un estudio en el comportamiento de las personas en situación de emergencia en Colombia enfocado a call centers.…”

“…Por otro lado, se encontró que se usan simulaciones basadas en modelos numéricos, y también se ha tratado de realizar esa misma tarea usando autómatas finitos, como por ejemplo un estudio donde se usan dichos autómatas para simular eventos de emergencia como los incendios [9], además se hacen diversas aproximaciones desde diferentes áreas para estudiar este tipo de eventos [2], [3], [27]- [32] Asimismo, es posible que en la situación de emergencia se puedan presentar casos de competición vs cooperación [79], donde usan técnicas basadas en juego de roles combinados con grafismos computacionales para incluir a participantes en escenarios de emergencia, todo en juego de ordenador donde todas las variables pudieron ser manipuladas y medidas, y se observa que, dependiendo de la magnitud de la emergencia, es posible que se presente competencia o cooperación.…”