Grant awarded to study the organisational processes of ‘stampedes’

27 May 2020

Dr Fergus Neville in the School of Management is a co-investigator on a grant which has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The project will provide a new and improved theoretical understanding of how crowds respond to perceived hostile threats such as the noise of gunshots.

While crowd flight is often conceptualised in irrational or animalistic terms (e.g. as 'stampedes'), this project will examine the organisational processes which determine collective responses, with a particular focus on the relationships between crowd members.

An international team of researchers will:

  • examine historical and contemporary 'stampede' incidents
  • design and build virtual reality based experiments which test the role of key variables that impact the perception of threat and sudden flight behaviour
  • explain the impact of emergency service intervention on public response in the context of perceived threats.

This empirical work will provide new learning and guidance for government and emergency service end-users.

People on a busy New York City street in 1936, a few with their hands to their faces as if upset or hiding from the camera. Background photo for the Hightstown project. Courtesy The New York Public Library on Unsplash

Photo of a New York City crowd in 1936 courtesy The New York Public Library on Unsplash