Panic, irrationality, herding: three ambiguous terms in crowd dynamics research
The three terms “panic”, “irrationality” and “herding” are ubiquitous in the crowd dynamics literature and have a strong influence on both modelling and management practices. This review is the first to systematically revisit these three terms in a unified study to highlight the scope of this debate. We extracted from peer-reviewed journal articles direct quotes that offer a definition, conceptualisation or supporting/contradicting evidence on these terms and/or their underlying theories. To further examine the suitability of the term herding, a secondary and more detailed analysis is also conducted on studies that have specifically investigated this phenomenon in empirical settings. The review shows that (i) there is no consensus on the definition for the terms panic and irrationality; and that (ii) the literature is highly divided along discipline lines on how accurate these theories/terminologies are for describing human escape behaviour. The review reveals a complete division and disconnection between studies published by social scientists and those from the physical science domain; also, between studies whose main focus is on numerical simulation versus those with empirical focus. (iii) Despite the ambiguity of the definitions and the missing consensus in the literature, these terms are still increasingly and persistently mentioned in crowd evacuation studies. (iv) Different to panic and irrationality, there is relative consistency in definitions of the term herding, with the term usually being associated with ‘(blind) imitation’. However, based on the findings of empirical studies, we argue why, despite the relative consistency in meaning, (v) the term herding itself lacks adequate nuance and accuracy for describing the role of ‘social influence’ in escape behaviour. Our conclusions also emphasise the importance of distinguishing between the social influence on various aspects of evacuation behaviour and avoiding generalisation across various behavioural layers.
- Record URL:
-
Corporate Authors:
University of Sydney. Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies
University of Sydney, 144 Burren Street, Newtown, New South Wales, 2042, Australia
Sydney, New South Wales -
Authors:
- Haghani, M
- Cristiani, E
- Bode, N
- Boltes, M
- Corbetta, A
- Publication Date: 2019-8
Media Info
- Pagination: 72p
-
Serial:
- Issue Number: ITLS-WP-19-16
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Accuracy; Crowds; Evacuation; Evaluation; Pedestrian flow; Travel behavior
- ATRI Terms: Accuracy; Crowding; Evacuation; Evaluation; Pedestrian flow; Systematic review; Travel behaviour
- Subject Areas: Society;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01718264
- Record Type: Publication
- Source Agency: ARRB Group Limited
- Files: ITRD, ATRI
- Created Date: Sep 26 2019 12:28PM