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| Quotes | Qu. Ref. No | Implications of the quote | The source study | Comments/ Interpretations |
| Discipline | Study type |
Links
to H. | Links to Ir. | Def./ Cha.
P. | Supp. P. | Cont. P. | Soc. Sci. | Phys. Sci. | Bio. Sci. | Mod. | Emp. Test. | Conc. |
|
(i) Whenever we (such as pedestrians) perceive a high density or imminent danger in a confined space, we tend to be panic, which can lead to severe injuries even in the absence of real dangers.
(ii) Mass behaviors induced by panic usually cause great loss, even for human’s life | (1)
[9] | | • | | • | | | • | | • | | | (i) Panic is common occurrence in the face of imminent danger
(ii) Panic is a cause of injuries in crises |
|
(i) Results show that moderate panic reduces the escape time
(ii) Simulation results show that moderate panic, meaning that two escape strategies are mixed, reduces the escape time.
(iii) In addition, the results indicate that moderate panic can improve the efficiency of escape
(iv) Finding indicates that panic in specific condition can improve the efficiency of escape, which also can be useful for designing evacuation strategies. | (2)
[9] | | • | | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic can affect evacuation efficiency, in both beneficial or detrimental ways |
|
(i) Because pedestrians tend to random motion under panic, the probability of random moving that can characterize the panic is thus the panic parameter.
(ii) When p = 1, it indicates that pedestrian moves in a completely random strategy, that is pedestrian remains at an intense panic | (3)
[9] | | | • | | | | • | | • | | | Panic is manifested as random (erratic) behaviour (chaos) |
|
| In situations of escape panics, individuals are getting nervous, i.e., they tend to develop blind actionism. Furthermore, people try to move considerably faster than normal, etc. (o.c.) | (4)
[11] | • | | • | | | | • | | • | | | (i) Panic is manifested as increased stress (nervousness/fear)
(ii) Panic is manifested as imitative (herd) behaviour
(iii) Panic is manifested as elevated physical competition |
|
| ‘‘Panic: People flight based on a sudden subjective or ‘infected’ fear; People are moving imprudently; The cause of this movement cannot be recognized by an outsider’’ (o.c.) | (5)
[11] | | • | • | | | | • | | • | | | Panic can occur without any distinguishable cause |
|
(i) Up to now, the terminology ‘‘panic’’ is highly controversial and usually avoided. In this manuscript, we use ‘‘fear’’…
(ii) There is no precise accepted definition of panic although in the media usually aspects like selfish, asocial or even completely irrational behavior and contagion that affects large groups are associated with this concept | (6)
[11] | • | • | | | • | | • | | • | | | (i) Panic lacks a clear definition
(ii) Panic is common media language |
|
| In spite of such measures, empirical knowledge has shown that the real danger comes not from the actual cause but from what is called “unpredictable” or “non-adaptive” behavior of a crowd under panic. | (7)
[10] | | | | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic is a cause of injuries in crises |
|
| It is shown that the variation of the model parameters allows describing different types of behaviour, from regular to panic. | (8)
[18] | | | | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic can be represented by simple parameters in simulation models |
|
| The phenomena observed during panics can be quite different from those found in “normal” situations. Nevertheless, it is desirable to have a model which is able to describe the whole spectrum of possible pedestrian behaviour in a unified way. | (9)
[18] | | | | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic can be represented by simple parameters in simulation models |
|
| In panic situations many counter-intuitive phenomena (e.g. “faster-is-slower” and “freezing-by-heating” etc. [o.c.]) can occur. | (10)
[18] | | | • | • | | | • | | • | | | (i) Panic leads to exit blockages
(ii) Panic can affect evacuation efficiency |
|
| Crisis circumstances often involve considerable uncertainty, confusion, and panic. | (11)
[98] | | | • | • | | • | | | | • | | Panic is common occurrence in the face of imminent danger |
|
| ..stress can end up with panic [o.c.] and even with aggressive behaviours | (12)
[99] | | | • | • | | | • | | • | | | (i) Panic is manifested as increased stress (nervousness/fear)
(ii) Panic is manifested as elevated physical competition |
|
| …little study has been carried out to examine these interactions under panic situation due to scarcity of data on human panic. | (13)
[100] | | | | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic theory lacks empirical support |
|
| Crowd safety has emerged as an important issue all around the world as there have been numerous incidents in which crowd panic has resulted in injuries and/or death. | (14)
[100] | | | | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic is a cause of injuries in crises |
|
| The bulk of the literature is restricted to the study of normal (non-panic) pedestrian dynamics or normal evacuation processes. | (15)
[100] | | | • | • | | | • | | • | | | |
|
| The use of term panic and emergencies in this study refer to situations in which individuals have limited information and vision (due to high crowd density and short time for egress), and which result in physical competition and pushing behavior. | (16)
[100] | | | • | • | | | • | | • | | | (i) Panic is manifested as elevated physical competition |
|
| In 1954, Quarantelli was the first social scientist to find that there is no proof of the presence of panic in cases of major disasters. | (17)
[7] | | | | | • | | • | | | | • | Panic theory lacks empirical support |
|
| An increased stress level is not the same as panic, which can be defined as irrational, illogical and uncontrolled behaviour | (18)
[7] | | • | • | • | | | • | | | | • | Panic is manifested as random (erratic) behaviour (chaos) |
|
| Under the panic state the agents cohere closely and almost do not change the target exit. So other alternative exits are ignored. | (19)
[101] | | | • | • | | | • | | | | • | (i) Panic leads to imbalanced utilisation of exits
(ii) Panic can affect evacuation efficiency |
|
| People under panic are usually willing to move along known routes, even if this means they run towards the fire, which may lead to more fatalities. | (20)
[101] | | • | • | • | | | • | | | | • | (i) Panic leads to imbalanced utilisation of exits
(ii) Panic can affect evacuation efficiency |
|
| Empirical data have shown that usually the escape panic can cause more casualties than the actual disaster | (21)
[101] | | • | | • | | | • | | | | • | Panic is a cause of injuries in crises |
|
| Some may lose their own decision-making capacity and the herding behavior may appear for following specific individual. Some may accelerate the speed of movement due to the panic. Some may panic that cannot choose the right exit or even lose destination. | (22)
[16] | • | • | • | • | | | • | | • | | | (i) Panic is manifested as imitative (herd) behaviour
(ii) Panic is manifested as elevated physical competition |
|
| Panic: Breakdown of ordered, cooperative behavior of individuals due to anxious reactions to a certain event… characterized by attempted escape of many individuals from a real or perceived threat…, which may end up in trampling or crushing of people in a crowd. | (23)
[102] | | | • | • | | | • | | • | | • | (i) Panic is manifested as increased stress (nervousness/fear)
(ii) Panic is manifested as elevated physical competition |
|
| Critical situations may occur if the arrival flow is much higher than the departure flow, especially if people are trying to get towards a strongly desired goal (“acquisitive panic”) or away from a perceived source of danger (“escape panic”) with an increased driving force. | (24)
[102] | | | • | • | | | • | | • | | • | There are various kinds of panic |
|
| In the worst case, such behavior can trigger a “phantom panic”, i. e. a crowd disaster without any serious reasons. Under extreme conditions (high densities or panic), however, coordination may break down, giving rise to “freezing-by-heating” or “faster-is-slower effects”, stop-and-go waves or “crowd turbulence”. | (25)
[102] | | | • | • | | | • | | • | | • | (i) There are various kinds of panic
(ii) Panic leads to exit blockages |
|
| We have proposed a consistent theoretical approach allowing a continuous switching between seemingly incompatible kinds of human behavior (individualistic rational behavior vs. irrational panic behavior) | (26)
[103] | • | • | • | • | | | • | | • | | • | Panic can be represented by simple parameters in simulation models |
|
| One of the most disastrous forms of collective human behaviour is the kind of crowd stampede induced by panic, often leading to fatalities as people are crushed or trampled. | (27)
[19] | | | • | • | | | • | | • | | • | Panic is a cause of injuries in crises |
|
| The characteristic features of escape panics can be summarized as follows: (1) People move or try to move considerably faster…. (2) Individuals start pushing…. (3) …passing of a bottleneck becomes uncoordinated. (4) At exits, arching and clogging are observed. (5) Jams build up. (6) The physical interactions in the jammed crowd add up and cause dangerous pressures... (7) Escape is further slowed by fallen or injured people acting as ‘obstacles’. (8) People show a tendency towards mass behaviour, that is, to do what other people do (9) Alternative exits are often overlooked…[o.c.] | (28)
[19] | • | | • | • | | | • | | • | | • | (i) Panic is manifested as increased stress (nervousness/fear)
(ii) Panic is manifested as imitative (herd) behaviour
(iii) Panic is manifested as elevated physical competition |
|
| In the event of an emergency, unnecessary panic can spread rapidly amongst metro passengers, leading to self-evacuation. | (29)
[43] | | | | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic is common occurrence in the face of imminent danger |
|
| In a panic, information spreads so rapidly that passengers often self-evacuate. | (30)
[43] | | | • | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic is common occurrence in the face of imminent danger |
|
| Human behavior in an emergency is quite different from that in daily life or even evacuation rehearsal. People in a fire scene are very likely to be affected by people around as a result of uneasiness and panic. They would like to be close to the crowd and follow the route of the mass rather than the route made by their own judgment. | (31)
[104] | • | | • | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic is manifested as imitative (herd) behaviour |
|
| Casualties during crowd evacuation in many unexpected events are closely related to panic behaviors. | (32)
[105] | | | • | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic is a cause of injuries in crises |
|
| The evolution of herding people to panic people is interpreted by a specific concept of “herding–panic threshold,” as well as its utility threshold model | (33)
[105] | • | | | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic can be represented by simple parameters in simulation models |
|
| Although the term “panic” is a controversial topic, in which some interview data and case studies demonstrate that panic is a very rare occurrence in fires… the idea of panic and the term continue to be used by the public as well as fire experts. | (34)
[105] | | | | • | • | | • | | • | | | Panic is rare occurrence in the face of imminent danger |
|
| In many emergencies…panic does exist and induces tragic catastrophes, which cannot be attributable to building design or its management | (35)
[105] | | | • | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic is a cause of injuries in crises |
|
| Panicking individuals will block up an exit that they could pass through safely at normal walking speed. | (36)
[38] | | | • | • | | | • | | • | | • | Panic leads to exit blockages |
|
| Assuming escaping behavior of individuals in emergency is rational rather than out of panic according to recent findings in social psychology, we investigate the behavioral evolution of large crowds from the perspective of evolutionary game theory | (37)
[8] | | • | | | • | | • | | • | | | Panic theory lacks empirical support |
|
| In panic conditions, individuals’ speeds increase above normal, interactions between persons become highly physical and movements are uncoordinated [o.c.]. At exits, clogging and collisions occur, as well as rainbow-like arching structures. | (38)
[17] | | | • | • | | | • | | • | | | (i) Panic leads to exit blockages
(ii) Panic is manifested as elevated physical competition |
|
| This model does not account for crushing behaviors and thus limits the interpretation of panic in this context. | (39)
[106] | | | • | | | | • | | • | | | Panic is manifested as elevated physical competition |
|
| When the panic emotion emerges in someone in a crowd, his/her neighboring individuals tend to be infected via what is termed emotional contagion. | (40)
[107] | | | • | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic is manifested as imitative (herd) behaviour |
|
| In order to intervene in and manage a large-scale crowd in which individuals can move freely in the case of large-scale panic, some managers or guides should be organized to calm the crowd members | (41)
[107] | | | | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic can affect evacuation efficiency |
|
| With such a model, additional characteristics of human behavior in a disaster evacuation scenario could be captured such as erratic action and panic. | (42)
[14] | | | • | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic is manifested as random (erratic) behaviour (chaos) |
|
(i) The “faster is slower” effect induced by panic was analyzed.
(ii) A state of panic is associated with high values of vd [desired velocity] i.e., individuals try to move faster and faster towards the exit door. | (43)
[108] | | | • | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic leads to exit blockages |
|
| The continuity of both curve (…) shows the tendency of people to follow the majority during panic. | (44)
[1] | • | | • | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic is manifested as imitative (herd) behaviour |
|
| … the flow rate of pedestrian going out through an exit door of width L is considered a linear function of L [Under normal evacuation conditions (no panic)]…under panic situation, this is no longer valid. | (45)
[109] | | | • | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic leads to exit blockages |
|
| Song et al. distinguished the crowd in panic situations…according to people who will (a) select the closest exit, (b) be in total panic, and (c) follow the flow of the crowd around them (41). The percentage in each group was 90%, 5%, and 5%, respectively. | (46)
[110] | • | | | • | | | • | | • | | | |
|
| Panicked individuals may have a negative impact on other people and, on the contrary, the calm leadership of certain evacuees may inspire orderly movement of others. | (47)
[105] | | | | • | | | • | | • | • | | Panic can affect evacuation efficiency |
|
| The emotion of the crowd often is in an unreason state. Negative emotions, such as panic, may induce disastrous forms of collective human behaviors, e.g., crush and trample | (48)
[107] | | | | • | | | • | | • | | | Panic is a cause of injuries in crises |
|
| Panic has been associated with individualistic responses and characterised by “self-preservation at all costs, by ‘irrational’ animalistic behaviour involving the breakdown of group ties… Evidence will be presented to show that this is an inaccurate generalisation | (49)
[12] | | • | • | | • | • | | | | | • | Panic theory lacks empirical support |
|
| There has been a resistance to psychological studies of human action in fire because of the belief [o.c.] that the term ‘panic’ provides a sufficiently accurate description of people’s response to hazardous events. Sime [o.c.] has pointed to the essential difficulty associated with the use of the term ‘panic’, in that it has “ruled out attempts to examine directly people’s experiences of coping in a fire situation”. | (50)
[12] | | | | | • | • | | | | | • | (i) Panic lacks a clear definition
(ii) Panic theory lacks empirical support |
|
| Wood has found that behaviour during fires is influenced by social roles and that different groups within the sample displayed distinctive patterns of response. This would suggest that evacuation is not a random, irrational ‘panic’ response even though people are acting under stress. | (51)
[12] | | • | • | | • | • | | | | | • | Panic theory lacks empirical support |
|
| In the past these factors have been considered the classic situational determinants of competitive flight or ‘panic’ behaviour…An alternative model of ‘affiliative’ escape behaviour is examined in the present paper. | (52)
[15] | | | | | • | • | | | | | • | Social affiliation theory presents an alternative to the panic theory |
|
| It has been argued that many of the assumptions about escape behaviour in the fire regulations and design literature derive from the notion that when faced by a fire threat, people have a tendency to ‘panic’. | (53)
[15] | | | | | | • | | | | | • | Panic is a very pervasive assumption in modelling literature |
|
(i) The panic model of escape behaviour assumes that people threatened by entrapment will revert automatically to primitive, highly emotional, irrational behaviour
(ii) The panic and physical-science models are inextricably linked through the analogy made between people and non-thinking objects | (54)
[15] | | • | • | | | • | | | | | • | Panic is manifested as non-humanistic behaviour |
|
(i) The word ‘panic’ is frequently used in media accounts and statements of survivors of emergency evacuations and fires, but what does it really mean, is it a phenomenon that actually occurs?
(ii) Despite the data demonstrating that panic is a very rare occurrence in fires, the idea of panic and the term continue to be used by the public as well as fire experts | (55)
[30] | | | | | • | • | | | | | • | (i) Panic is common media language
(ii) Panic theory lacks empirical support
(iii) Panic is a very pervasive assumption in modelling literature |
|
| There are various accounts in the literature of ‘mass panic’, all of which assume psychological vulnerability, since they claim that, in the context of threat, the crowd becomes a conduit for inherent tendencies towards dysfunctional behaviour, delusory beliefs and social pathology. | (56)
[24] | | • | • | | | • | | | | | • | Panic can affect evacuation efficiency |
|
| Theories of ‘panic’ typically suggest that loss of behavioural control, and hence selfishness and disorder, is generic in emergencies. However, reviews and case studies of emergencies show that cooperation is relatively common within and across crowds. | (57)
[24] | | | • | | • | • | | | | | • | (i) Panic is a very pervasive assumption in modelling literature
(ii) Panic theory lacks empirical support
(iii) Social affiliation theory presents an alternative to the panic theory |
|
| The concept of ‘panic’ has served to justify the restriction of such essential public information – based on a concern that the crowd might ‘panic’. | (58)
[24] | | | | | | • | | | | | • | Panic theory has significant implications for crowd management |
|
| This general model provides a strong basis on which to refute the ‘panic’ description of behaviour. It supports and refines Wood’s [16] earlier finding that fire victims do not behave in an irrational manner | (59)
[12] | | • | | | • | • | | | | | • | Panic theory lacks empirical support |
|
| Crowd quakes are a typical reason for crowd disasters, to be distinguished from crowd disasters resulting from ‘mass panic’ or ‘crowd crushes….Accordingly, things can go terribly wrong in spite of no bad intentions from anyone. | (60)
[111] | | | | • | | | • | | | • | | Panic is a cause of injuries in crises |
|
| It is widely believed that one of the most disruptive consequences of a terrorist attack… would be public panic. Indeed, this is one of the probable goals of the terrorists. | (61)
[112] | | | | • | | • | | | | | • | Panic is a cause of injuries in crises |
|
| The results contradict most of the predictions of the mass panic model and add to the dominant affiliation and normative approaches…These results support a hypothesis according to which (emergent) collective identity motivates solidarity with strangers. | (62)
[113] | | | | | • | • | | | | | • | (i) Panic theory lacks empirical support
(ii) Social affiliation theory presents an alternative to the panic theory |
|
| Images of group panic and collective chaos are ubiquitous in Hollywood movies, mainstream media and the rhetoric of politicians. But, contrary to these popular portrayals, group panic is relatively rare. In disasters people are often models of civility and cooperation. | (63)
[114] | | | | | • | • | | | | | • | (i) Panic theory lacks empirical support
(ii) Social affiliation theory presents an alternative to the panic theory
(iii) Panic is common media language |
|
(i) I report evidence showing that panic did not cause the death and injury of numerous young people prior to a concert.
(ii) I conclude that theoretical models of panics or “crazes” within the literature on collective behavior are not very useful in explaining this type of incident. | (64)
[115] | | | | | • | • | | | | • | • | Panic theory lacks empirical support |
|
| Many social scientists would categorize the crowd behavior described above form of panic-usually termed an “acquisitive panic” (o.c.) or “craze” (o.c.). Smelser distinguishes it from the classic panics of escape, e.g., flight from a burning building, in that the latter is a “headlong rush away from something” while the craze is a rush “toward something [the participants] believe to be gratifying. | (65)
[115] | | | • | | | • | | | | • | • | There are various kinds of panic |
|
| Although many collective behavior theorists discuss the phenomenon, systematic studies of panic are uncommon. Researchers conducting such studies generally conclude that panic is a rare form of crowd behaviour. Quarantelli and Dynes (1972) report that they have found few instances of panic after years of disaster research. | (66)
[115] | | | | | • | • | | | | • | • | There are various kinds of panic |
|
| Although not in complete agreement, writers on panic before Mintz had tended to emphasize perceived danger and mutual influence (suggestion, contagion, mimicry) as the key factors in the development and spread of incoordinated and nonadaptive “panic” behavior | (67)
[33] | • | | • | | | • | | | | • | • | (i) Panic is manifested as increased stress (nervousness/fear)
(ii) Panic is manifested as imitative (herd) behaviour |
|
| Intense fear is shown not to be important because even in its absence there occurs “behavior analogous to that occurring in panics | (68)
[33] | | | | | • | • | | | | • | • | |
|
| The notion of ‘mass panic’ shares with classical ‘crowd science’ the assumption that the crowd is less intelligent and more emotional than the lone individual (o.c.) and hence reactions to an emergency will be disproportionate to the actual danger. | (69)
[116] | | • | • | | | • | | | | • | • | Panic is a cause of injuries in crises |
|
| In the field of mass emergency and disaster research, the notion of mass panic has been largely discredited by the finding of orderly, meaningful mass behavior in disasters. However, some influential practitioners, including crowd modellers in the fields of engineering and design, still draw upon the notion. | (70)
[116] | | | • | | • | • | | | | • | • | (i) Panic is a very pervasive assumption in modelling literature
(ii) Panic theory lacks empirical support |
|
| The term ‘panic’ is a commonsense cliché. The term is often used when what in fact is being described is simply flight from the source of danger. | (71)
[116] | | | • | | • | • | | | | • | • | Panic lacks a clear definition |
|
| Analyses of 9-11 refer to the relative absence of panic (o.c.), the calm and orderliness of the evacuation (o.c.), and the frequency of helping and acts of ‘mundane heroism’ amongst strangers (o.c.). | (72)
[116] | | | | | • | • | | | | • | • | Panic theory lacks empirical support |
|
| Shared identity in an emergency crowd enhances expressions of solidarity and reduces ‘panic’ behaviour and…such a shared identity can arise from the shared experience of the emergency itself | (73)
[27] | | | | | • | • | | | | • | • | Social affiliation theory presents an alternative to the panic theory |
|
| It is suggested that the ‘mass panic’ approach is correct to suggest a discontinuity between everyday and mass emergency behaviour, but wrong in its account of what that behaviour is. | (74)
[27] | | | | | • | • | | | | • | • | Panic theory lacks empirical support |
|
| [Keating] pointed out that people did not panic, did not become animals, and did not abandon their ties to others. Instead they continued to be social actors … | (75)
[117] | | | • | | • | • | | | | | • | Social affiliation theory presents an alternative to the panic theory |
|
Collective solidarity can mitigate fear and negative emotions, thus reducing the risk of panic.
| (76)
[118] | | | | | | • | | | | • | | Social affiliation theory presents an alternative to the panic theory |
|
| The mass panic approach describes individuals as acting in a purely selfish manner. | (77)
[118] | | | • | | | • | | | | • | | (i) Panic is manifested as non-humanistic behaviour |
|
| Indeed, participants referred to ‘orderly’ behaviour, and cooperation, even when they said the threat of death was present. ‘Panic’ was therefore being used as a description of events that was not consistent. | (78)
[28] | | | | | • | • | | | | • | • | (i) Panic theory lacks empirical support
(ii) Panic lacks a clear definition |
|
(i) More empirically oriented studies have consistently reported little collective panic, as
well as a great deal of solidarity and pro-social behavior during mass emergency situations.
(ii) Many studies in the fields of sociology and social psychology have systematically questioned the existence of mass panic in disasters and mass emergency contexts. | (79)
[119] | | | • | | • | • | | | | | • | (i) Panic theory lacks empirical support
(ii) Social affiliation theory presents an alternative to the panic theory |
|
| Defining ‘mass panic’ in a scientifically sound manner has long been recognized as a difficult task. | (80)
[119] | | | | | | • | | | | | • | Panic lacks a clear definition |
|
| Panic in crowds is still an important theoretical postulate of scholars interested in the modeling of collective behavior | (81)
[119] | | | | | | • | | | | | • | (i) Panic is a very pervasive assumption in modelling literature |
|
| [People] report having been in a state of panic to describe their lack of information about an event. This is even the case when they in fact stayed calm and behaved in a rational and prudent fashion. | (82)
[119] | | • | | | • | • | | | | | • | Panic theory lacks empirical support |
|
| As usually defined, individual panic would include a “reaction involving terror, confusion, and irrational behavior, precipitated by a threatening situation often including physical symptoms as well, and panic as a social phenomenon is defined as simply an aggregate of such responses” | (83)
[120] | | • | • | | | • | | | | | • | (i) Panic is manifested as increased stress (nervousness/fear)
(ii) Panic is manifested as elevated physical competition |
|
| [As opposed to panic] I prefer the term unregulated competition as the descriptive label. | (84)
[120] | | | | | | • | | | | | • | Panic lacks a clear definition |
|
| In this emergency situation, the survivors of the bombings came together to tend to the injured and find a way of evacuating safely. In contrast to portrayals of crowds as panicking and acting selfishly to evacuate, research has shown that the opposite occurred. | (85)
[121] | | | • | | • | | • | | • | • | | Panic theory lacks empirical support |
|
| There is good reason to think that the behaviour of human crowds is quite similar to these animal groups and that studying humans might help elucidate the origins of crowd panic and other dangerous instabilities that can lead to injury or loss of life. | (86)
[122] | | | | • | | | • | | | | • | (i) Panic is manifested as non-humanistic behaviour
(ii) Panic is a cause of injuries in crises |
|
| While mass panic (and/or violence) and self-preservation are often assumed to be the natural response to physical danger and perceived entrapment, the literature indicates that expressions of mutual aid are common and often predominate, and collective flight may be so delayed that survival is threatened. | (87)
[123] | | | | | • | • | | | | | • | Panic theory is not empirically well supported |
|
(i) The term “panic” refers to inappropriate (or excessive) fear and/or flight.
(ii) Whether defined as inappropriate or as highly intense fear or flight, instances of panic are difficult to identify in practice | (88)
[123] | | | • | | • | • | | | | | • | Panic theory is not empirically well supported |
|
| Rushing for exits in a structural fire may be the only rational course of action to take. Hence, the decision to label instances of collective flight as panic is arbitrary. | (89)
[123] | | • | • | | • | • | | | | | • | What seems to be panic behaviour, may be individual’s best perceived course of action |
|
| Studies are revealing several misconceptions about the types of responses that emergencies evoke in people. For example, a number of widely-held beliefs among the public and the media have been shown to be incorrect, such as that looting, mass panic, and selfish behaviour are common in disasters, and should be abandoned in favour of realistic, proactive emergency knowledge. | (90)
[124] | | | | | • | • | | | | • | • | (i) Panic theory lacks empirical support
(ii) Panic is common media language |
|
| The review of the existing research literature, together with our own studies, support the view that mass panic is a myth, and that crowd behaviour in disasters and emergencies is meaningful rather than irrational; and that such behaviour is characteristically orderly and co-operative rather than disorderly and individualistic. | (91)
[125] | | • | • | | • | • | | | | • | • | Panic theory lacks empirical support |
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| Mass panic is said to occur when a crowd has only limited opportunity for escape from impending danger. It supposedly explains the high numbers of avoidable fatalities in emergency evacuations. | (92)
[31] | | | | | | • | | | | | • | Panic is a cause of injuries in crises |
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| Mass panic occurs when a group of persons fleeing from imminent danger find their escape route impeded or blocked. Under these circumstances they lose all sense of judgment and discretion. They become impervious to communication or direction, trample over one another, and fail to seek other exits of escape even if available. For these reasons mass panic rarely occurs in outside disaster circumstances. | (93)
[29] | | • | • | • | | • | | | | | • | (i) Panic is manifested as non-humanistic behaviour
(ii) Panic leads to imbalanced utilisation of exits |
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| From around 200 accounts of the World Trade Center survivors published in the media, panic was seldom mentioned instead many emphasized the calm and altruistic behaviour of the evacuees. | (94)
[126] | | | | | • | • | | | | | • | Panic theory lacks empirical support |
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| The popular image of disaster has often centered on the theme of personal chaos. Such an image is frequently documented by isolated anecdotes used to prove the universality of such behavior. This image suggests that individuals panic and that individuals lose their concern for others. | (95)
[25] | | | • | | • | • | | | | | • | (i) Panic is manifested as random (erratic) behaviour (chaos)
(ii) Panic is manifested as non-humanistic behaviour |
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| The issue of panic in disasters is frequently clouded by a lack of understanding of what the term means. The word is often very loosely and incorrectly used to describe virtually any type of fear, flight, or uncoordinated activity. | (96)
[25] | | | • | | | • | | | | | • | Panic lacks a clear definition |
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The problem with the panic misconception is that the public, the media, and even emergency planners and public officials believe it. Because of this, officials may hesitate to issue warnings because they are convinced that the resulting panic will cause more damage than the disaster itself.
(i) This belief has led to recommendations to avoid panic by (1) providing minimal information to occupants in the event of a building fire and (2) carrying on normal activities until the last possible moment.
(ii) Evacuation warnings should not be withheld or delayed for fear of precipitating widespread panic. | (97)
[25] | | | | | | • | | | | | • | (i) Panic theory has significant implications for crowd management
(ii) Panic is common media language |
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| Governments and commentators perceive the public to be prone to panic in response to terrorist attacks…Evidence from five such incidents suggest that the public is not prone to panic, although people can change their behaviours and attitudes to reduce the risk of themselves being exposed to a terrorist incident. | (98)
[34] | | | | | • | • | | | | | • | Panic theory lacks empirical support |
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| We suggest that although the public may change their behaviours or attitudes, in ways that might be viewed as irrational by public authorities,…these actions tend to have an internal logic and as such are amenable to change. Assumptions of panic may therefore be counterproductive. | (99)
[34] | | • | | | • | • | | | | | • | What seems to be panic behaviour, may be individual’s best perceived course of action |
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| During an emergency evacuation, for instance, the presence of heightened anxiety and distress among the evacuees combined with a fear of dying is not sufficient to label them as panicking | (100)
[34] | | | | | • | • | | | | | • | Panic lacks a clear definition |
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| Despite considerable effort by many individuals found in this article’s reference list, the myth of mass panic stubbornly refuses to die. | (101)
[127] | | | | | • | • | | | | | • | Panic is a very pervasive assumption in modelling literature |
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| During emergencies, the anticipation of mass ‘panic’ has been a favoured argument to delay warning the public. Such delays have contributed to subsequent flight behaviour and the crush of people who had only a few seconds left to react once the situation unexpectedly got out of hand. | (102)
[26] | | | | | | • | | | | | • | Panic theory has significant implications for crowd management |
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| Perhaps the most frequently used term in connection with disasters and crises is the word “panic”…an observation by Jordan unfortunately still is true today. As he noted: “The literature on panic research is strewn with wrecked hulks of attempts to define ‘panic’. When these definitions are placed side by side. one is confronted by chaos. | (103)
[128] | | | | | | • | | | | | • | Panic lacks a clear definition |
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| Panic flight was so rarely found that eventually the very concept of “panic behavior” was deemed useless for fire research purposes | (104)
[128] | | | | | • | • | | | | | • | Panic is a rare occurrence |
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| To conclude, collective panic flight in disasters is such a rarity that it is not a major problem and has very little overall negative consequences compared with other bad effects. | (105)
[128] | | | | | • | • | | | | | • | Panic theory lacks empirical support |
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| While some current researchers continue to use the word “panic” in imaginative ways (o.c.), we personally think the term should be dropped as a social science concept…A major move in such a direction would free social scientists from the ambiguities and imprecisions of continuing to use a word drawn from popular discourse. | (106)
[128] | | | | | • | • | | | | | • | Panic lacks a clear definition |
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| In stress situations, one aspect of social behavior that has been subjected to little experimental investigation is panic behavior…By far the great majority of the literature consists of post hoc impressionistic reflections that contain little substantive material amenable to systematic, analytic interpretation. | (107)
[129] | | | | | | • | | | | | • | Panic theory lacks empirical support |
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| For ethical reasons, however, there is a serious lack of experimental data regarding crowd panic. While panic has recently been studied in animal experiments with mice and ants [o.c.], there is still an evident lack of data on critical conditions in human crowds. | (108)
[130] | | | | | | | • | | • | • | | Panic theory lacks empirical support |
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| Mass-emergencies are very popular in the news, whether we watch news on TV or read a newspaper. In most of these news we are able to read that people were fallen in panic or a mass-panic occurred. This is a simple, but often used explanation why people died in such situations. But is that the truth? | (109)
[131] | | | | | • | • | | | | • | • | Panic is common media language |
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| Several researchers in the field of engineering or sociology have written special papers (e.g. [3]) or books (e.g. [4, 5]) about the phenomenon of panic, but a complete definition of panic cannot be found in the literature. | (110)
[131] | | | | | | • | | | | • | • | Panic lacks a clear definition |
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| Based on this short overview the authors want to point out that the terms “panic”, “stampede” and “crush” are very language specific, thus one has to read articles in one’s native language and at least in one foreign language to ensure, that both language specific views are considered. | (111)
[131] | | | | | | • | | | | • | • | Panic lacks a clear definition |
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| This and other definitions are used to investigate 127 cases of mass-emergencies. The results show, that panic behavior in case of mass-emergencies does not as often occur as suggested. | (112)
[131] | | | | | • | • | | | | • | • | Panic theory lacks empirical support |
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