The events Stadia and events disasters and near disasters, fires, explosions Results

1. Department of Psychology Dr John Drury j.drury@sussex.ac.uk CROWD BEHAVIOUR AND SOCIAL IDENTITY Crowd evacuation #1 Crowd conflict Crowd evacuation Simulation studies • Social Identity Model • Crowd conflict arises when: • crowd and outside forces (e.g., the police) have differing conceptions of legitimacy • the action of the police serves to unite otherwise disparate fragments of a physical crowd. • Crowd conflict is limited by participants’ social identities, which define appropriate conduct. • Applications • Urban riots, demonstrations, protest events. Rationale To examine how, when and why crowd evacuation behaviour is social & co-operative. Background Social and asocial models. Applicability of Social Identity Model to explain co-ordination amongst strangers in crowds. Practical applications Evacuation from stadia, buildings etc. Informing design and emergency procedures • Technology/ design • Role play room evacuation experiments • Visualization • Results • Some impact of shared identity. • Problem of psychological engagement Please insert images within the relevant frame + Visu Partners ESRC, University of St Andrews, University of Nottingham (Computer Science, Chemical Engineering) Crowd evacuation #2 Crowd behaviour and social identity – further research Post-event support Interviews with survivors Crowd flow and spatiality The experience of crowding Design Experimental studies manipulating identity and crowding Initial findings Situations of crowding are tolerated or even enjoyed where people share a common identity Opportunities for companies Stadia, public transport managers, Health & Safety managers: collaborative R&D, consultancy. • The events • Stadia and events disasters and near disasters, fires, explosions • Results • Shared threat creates shared identity and hence mutual concern and helping. • Recommendations • Abandon the ‘panic’ model in emergency procedures. • Inform the public • Enhance public solidarity Design Combining psychological models, Artificial Intelligence and mathematical computer models. Existing applications Visualizations of reconstructions, mathematic models of crowd flow. Opportunities for companies Public building and space design, public transport design: collaborative R&D, funded projects, endorsement. Design Interview and survey of disaster survivors on experiences of collective support. Hypotheses Group processes and social identity can mitigate Post Traumatic Stress. Opportunities for companies Emergency services, health services: studentships, collaborative R&D.