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Leadership and group formation in high-rise building evacuations

From National Research Council Canada

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Affiliation
  1. National Research Council of Canada
SponsorSearch for: International Association for Fire Safety Science
FormatText, Article
ConferenceFire Safety Science : Proc. 1st Int. Symp.: 07 October 1985, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA
Subjectemergency exits; group behaviour; fire; psychology; fire evacuations; social context and organizational characteristics of occupants; evacuation strategies; decision making; emergent or situational leaders; imposed or authoritative leaders; status emergence; status maintenance; psychological processes; Human behaviour; sortie de secours; comportement de groupe; feu ( incendie); psychologie sociale
Abstract
This study addresses group formation and leadership during the evaucuation of a high-rise office building due to fire. Rather than focussing on the psychological parameters of individual evacuee behaviour, the authors concentrate on the social context and organizational characteristics of the occupancy within which decisions about evacuation strategy, group formation and questions of leadership are made. A distinction is drawn between "emergent" (situational) and " imposed" (authoritative) leaders and between the processes of status emergence (achievement of influence) and status maintenance (retention of influence). Both leadership and group formation can be viewed not only in terms of psychological processes but also as the interaction between the normal organizational structure and the roles people assume and play within their group.
Publication date
LanguageEnglish
Peer reviewedYes
IdentifierIRC-P-1377
NRC numberNRCC 25924
NRC-IRC-1111
NPARC number20379024
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Record identifier4fd620a0-1481-4856-88f5-7e3469518b51
Record created2012-07-24
Record modified2020-06-06
Date modified: