Simulating the impact of first responder communication strategies on citizen compliance in emergencies

Research on chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear emergencies suggests that citizens engage in protective health behaviours quicker and have higher compliance when they perceive first responders to be in the same group as them. However, further work needs to address how communication strategies can create the perception that first responders are in the same group to facilitate this compliance.

Research in social psychology can provide key tools to increase effective communication from First Responders through increased trust. The Social Identity Approach explains how collective behaviour emerges as a group process, through categorising people as "ingroup" (same social group) or "outgroup" (different social group) members.

It demonstrates how the public can quickly self-organise safe behaviour in emergencies, have increased trust in ingroup members, and are more influenced by ingroup members than those outside the group.

In sudden onset emergencies such as fires and marauding firearm attacks, there can be limited time in which to convey messages to the public. Establishing the most effective communication methods to encourage safe behaviour is of vital importance. Pedestrian models provide a key tool for overseeing resilience in emergencies.

They can model both individual and collective behaviour that enables the simulation of group and individual actions. Using this method, I can ask why and how behaviour emerges by exploring the underlying psychological mechanisms. Crucially, I can model social connections between first responders and citizens based on evidence from social psychological research and first responder experiences.

However, few models have incorporated the social psychological principles that make collective behaviour possible: perceptions of others as being fellow group members. Current pedestrian evacuation models have limited accuracy because they do not include group behaviour, and at present none of the models include group processes between First Responders and the public to determine how they influence behaviour in emergencies

This project will ascertain the psychological underpinnings of behaviour in emergencies using online studies and a controlled laboratory experiment. I will to explore the effects of first responder communication approaches on route choice in emergencies to determine the behavioural consequences of first responder communication practices on citizen compliance.

I will ascertain how to 1) increase effective first responder communication strategies in emergencies through experiments using adapted existing communication approaches and hypotheses testing in pedestrian models, and 2) improve simulations of evacuation behaviour by incorporating social psychological factors that influence decision-making into a pedestrian model to advise emergency planning.

By adapting current first responder best practices into social psychological experiments on emergency behaviour, I will identify improvements for best practices that facilitate higher citizen compliance. This project will identify (in)effective emergency-related communication practices from first responders to citizens. Ultimately, I will incorporate expertise from civil protection and social psychology to create guidance for first responders and a pedestrian model that includes important social psychological factors influencing behaviour in emergencies.

This will enable us to create evidence-based guidance and models for first responder organisations that will assist with planning the best response to facilitate citizen compliance and increase safety. Thus, I will enhance understanding of group relations and risk factors in evacuations, and improve current procedures to deliver evidence-based enhancements to public safety in disaster situations.