Collective Behavior In the September 11, 2001 Evacuation Of The World Trade Center
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Date
2001
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Journal Title
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Volume Title
Publisher
Disaster Research Center
Abstract
Collective behavior framework is utilized to examine the evacuation of the World Trade
Center complex following the attacks of September 11. Using both first-person
newspaper accounts and media reports, the paper focuses on emerging norms in the
decision to evacuate as well as the evacuation process itself. Three key factors affected
the decision to evacuate: (1) social location, (2) the role of leaders, and (3) the level of
perceived threat. Helping behavior, the definition of norms in the stairwells, and
episodes of deviant behavior as emerging norms were all evident in the evacuation
process. Panic was not widely observed during the evacuation of the Twin Towers.
Improvements made following the 1993 World Trade Center attack contributed to a more
successful evacuation.
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Keywords
World Trade Center, Evacuation, Collective Behavior, social location, leaders, threat