RELATED WORK behaviors during emergencies Researchers have proposed a variety of social theories regarding behaviors during emergencies. For example, the affiliative theory and place script theory examine individuals’ behaviors based on their personal knowledge, risk perceptions, experience, and routines (Mawson, 2005; Sime, 1983). The emergent norm theory (McPhail, 1991) and the pro social theory (Aguirre et al., 2011) suggest that people continue to maintain group structure and behave in a pro social manner during emergencies. The social identity theory infers that people have a tendency to categorize themselves into one or more building their identity in part on their membership in the groups and enforcing boundaries with other groups (Drury et al., 2009). Moreover, studies in sociology and psychology suggest that people influence each other’s behaviors through the spreading of information and emotions (Rydgren 2009; Hoogendoorn et al. 2010). Social theories can provide valuable insights into occupants’ behaviors during emergencies. However, developing a unified theory that fully explains occupants’ behaviors in different situations is difficult. We conjecture that egress models require individual, group and crowd level characteristics and mechanisms to predict the outcome of an egress situation. At the individual level, occupants may refer to their past experiences and knowledge to decide on their actions. At the group level, the pre-existing social structure (relations between group members) and group norms (expectations of each other's behavior) would affect the behavior of an individual. Crowd-level behaviors are emergent phenomena and often follow social norms. As evidenced from recent studies of emergency incidents, occupants interact with their group members and the people nearby to guide their decision-making process (Kuligowski, 2011). Therefore, egress model should properly reflect the social structure and capture the
RELATED WORK behaviors during emergencies Researchers have proposed a variety of social theories regarding behaviors during emergencies. For example, the affiliative theory and place script theory examine individuals’ behaviors based on their personal knowledge, risk perceptions, experience, and routines (Mawson, 2005; Sime, 1983). The emergent norm theory (McPhail, 1991) and the pro social theory (Aguirre et al., 2011) suggest that people continue to maintain group structure and behave in a pro social manner during emergencies. The social identity theory infers that people have a tendency to categorize themselves into one or more building their identity in part on their membership in the groups and enforcing boundaries with other groups (Drury et al., 2009). Moreover, studies in sociology and psychology suggest that people influence each other’s behaviors through the spreading of information and emotions (Rydgren 2009; Hoogendoorn et al. 2010). Social theories can provide valuable insights into occupants’ behaviors during emergencies. However, developing a unified theory that fully explains occupants’ behaviors in different situations is difficult. We conjecture that egress models require individual, group and crowd level characteristics and mechanisms to predict the outcome of an egress situation. At the individual level, occupants may refer to their past experiences and knowledge to decide on their actions. At the group level, the pre-existing social structure (relations between group members) and group norms (expectations of each other's behavior) would affect the behavior of an individual. Crowd-level behaviors are emergent phenomena and often follow social norms. As evidenced from recent studies of emergency incidents, occupants interact with their group members and the people nearby to guide their decision-making process (Kuligowski, 2011). Therefore, egress model should properly reflect the social structure and capture the
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