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21693293.2013.765740 (46.43 kB)

Representing crowd behaviour in emergency planning guidance: ‘mass panic’ or collective resilience?

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 14:36 authored by John DruryJohn Drury, David Novelli, Clifford Stott
Emergency planning often includes assumptions about crowd behaviour. These assumptions matter, as they can operate as rationales for emergency management practices. We examined the extent to which crowds are represented in UK emergency planning guidance as psychologically vulnerable or as contributing to psychosocial resilience. A systematic search of 47 guidance documents identified 9 referring to ‘panic’. These were discourse analysed, along with six more guidance documents considered key to civil contingencies resilience. It was found that the references to ‘panic’ served to construct collectives (and particularly crowds) as a source of psychological vulnerability. References to collective sources of resilience in the public were mostly found to be limited and often served to marginalise the crowd as a basis of coping in emergencies. We argue that the emphasis in the current guidance on the marginal role of crowds and the indispensable role of the professionals conflicts with aspects of current policy on community resilience.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Resilience: International Policies, Practices and Discourses

ISSN

2169-3293

Publisher

Routledge

Issue

1

Volume

1

Page range

18-37

Department affiliated with

  • Psychology Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2013-03-15

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