Social Identity and Intergroup Relationships in the Management of Crowds during Mass Emergencies and Disasters: Recommendations for Emergency Planners and Responders1

Abstract

Abstract When addressing public behaviour during mass emergencies and disasters, it is important to consider that such emergencies and disasters will often involve crowds. An understanding of emergency crowds is therefore crucial in ensuring that incidents are managed as effectively as possible. The elaborated social identity model of crowd behaviour emphasizes that the way in which emergency responders manage crowds during an incident can play a crucial role in determining how members of the public react. Specifically, if affected casualties see emergency responders’ instructions and actions as legitimate, this will result in increased identification and cooperation between emergency responders and members of the public. In this paper, we show how the social identity approach can be applied to best explain crowd behaviour during mass emergencies and disasters, and how this improved theoretical understanding can be used to generate specific recommendations for operational good practice during incident management.