Bode, Nikolai WF and Kemloh Wagoum, Armel U and Codling, Edward A (2015) Information use by humans during dynamic route choice in virtual crowd evacuations. Royal Society Open Science, 2 (1). p. 140410. DOI https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.140410
Bode, Nikolai WF and Kemloh Wagoum, Armel U and Codling, Edward A (2015) Information use by humans during dynamic route choice in virtual crowd evacuations. Royal Society Open Science, 2 (1). p. 140410. DOI https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.140410
Bode, Nikolai WF and Kemloh Wagoum, Armel U and Codling, Edward A (2015) Information use by humans during dynamic route choice in virtual crowd evacuations. Royal Society Open Science, 2 (1). p. 140410. DOI https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.140410
Abstract
We conducted a computer-based experiment with over 450 human participants and used a Bayesian model selection approach to explore dynamic exit route choice mechanisms of individuals in simulated crowd evacuations. In contrast to previous work, we explicitly explore the use of time-dependent and time-independent information in decision-making. Our findings suggest that participants tended to base their exit choices on time-dependent information, such as differences in queue lengths and queue speeds at exits rather than on time-independent information, such as differences in exit widths or exit route length. We found weak support for similar decision-making mechanisms under a stress-inducing experimental treatment. However, under this treatment participants were less able or willing to adjust their original exit choice in the course of the evacuation. Our experiment is not a direct test of behaviour in real evacuations, but it does highlight the role different types of information and stress play in real human decision-making in a virtual environment. Our findings may be useful in identifying topics for future study on real human crowd movements or for developing more realistic agent-based simulations.
Item Type: | Article |
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Uncontrolled Keywords: | decision-making; crowd evacuations; virtual environment; route choice; Bayesian model selection |
Subjects: | Q Science > QA Mathematics |
Divisions: | Faculty of Science and Health Faculty of Science and Health > Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science, School of |
SWORD Depositor: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Depositing User: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Date Deposited: | 24 Feb 2015 16:49 |
Last Modified: | 30 Oct 2024 15:54 |
URI: | http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/13067 |
Available files
Filename: 140410.full.pdf
Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0