Panic phenomenon and crowdreaction.

Paweł Rasmus

Panic / Crowd• Panic (English Dictionary) - an overwhelming

feeling of fear and anxiety

• Panic (in psychology) sudden mass fear andanxiety over anticipated events; "panic inthe stock market"; "a war scare"; "a bombthe stock market"; "a war scare"; "a bombscare led them to evacuate the building„ itcan cause crazy escape from real orunreal danger.

• Crowd (English Dictionary) a large number ofthings or people considered together, itdoes not have interior organisation orintegration.

Typical places in witch panic canstrike:

• Stadiums, markets, undergrounds,schools, hospitals

• Cinemas, theatres, concerts,churches,churches,

• Trains, ships, planes

• Elevators, buildings

• And other multitudes(demonstrations, etc)

Situations that cause panic strike:• Terrorist attacks

• Catastrophes

• Fires

• Accident/damage

• Floods• Floods

• Warfares

• Unexpected sounds(especially: shooting,screaming, panicreactions of otherpeople)

Other conditions:

• Bad visibility (night, fog, smoke,)

• Bad weather condition (rain, snow, low/hightemperature)

• Number of people• Number of people

• Possibility of evacuation ( available fire-escapes)

• Agressive and unfriendly crowd

• Nervous behaviour of Rescuers Teams

How people behave in panic?(psychologicaly)

• People lose sense of time

• Lose an ability to controlthemselvesthemselves

• Do not react to orders

• Do not react to peruasion

• They behave in an irrational way

How people behave in panic?(sociologicaly)

• Open for suggestion (bahave the same asother people in panic)

• They are focused on the same thing orideaidea

• Crowd gives power

• Fear of law and punishment is lower

• There is „WE” instead of „I”

• Crowd guarantee impunity and anonymity

There are different crowd andindividual reactions and behaviours• G.Le Bon in his book „Crowd Psychology” says:

„human in crowd is not himself, he becomessimilar to crowd”

• G.W. Allport thinks that „human in crowd is evenmore himself”more himself”

• Human is closer to his masked personalitysctructure

• There is no social control• Responsibility is shared between the people in

the crowd• „People around are doing the same”

There are different crowd andindividual reactions and behaviours

• Whenever people fly off the handle orarouse hate there is high possibility oflynch or massive demonstration.

• When the crowd is cheerful and excitedthere is possiblity of street party andcelebrations

How to prevent panicphenomenon ?

• Force with shock impulse

• Diffuse the crowd

How to prevent panicphenomenon ?

• Immediately and savely leavingthe building or vehicle

• Efficient rescue action

How to prevent panicphenomenon ?

• Seperate leaders from the crowd

• Isolate people who manifest fear,so that their behaviour andemotions cannot influence others

References:

• Le Bon, Gustave (1895). "The Crowd: AStudy of the Popular Mind". Retrieved onNovember 15, 2005

• Elias Cannetti, Crowds and Power,• Elias Cannetti, Crowds and Power,Penguin, 1962

• Freud, Sigmund (1989) Group Psychologyand the Analysis of the Ego, trans. JamesStrachey. New York and London: W. W.Norton & Company.

Thank you forcoming

Paweł Rasmus