Ahmadi, M; Ahmadi, A and Yousefi, S (2025) Human behavior and decision-making in earthquake emergencies: Insights from virtual reality and serious games. International Journal of Construction Management, 25(11), pp. 1254-1272. ISSN 1562-3599
Abstract
Earthquakes can severely impact public spaces with complex layouts and high crowd densities, resulting in devastating consequences and deaths. Gaining insights into the actions of individuals during an earthquake can provide valuable information about areas where their decision-making may be flawed. Addressing these areas can improve safety measures and better protect people during emergencies. Moreover, acquiring this knowledge can enhance evacuation strategies for future earthquakes. Immersive Virtual Reality and Serious Games (IVR SGs) present an effective method for examining and understanding how people behave in emergency scenarios, such as earthquakes. Using IVR SGs, we created several potential scenarios during an earthquake in a shopping mall to explore how people act in an emergency when the evacuees feel pressure, urgency, and stress. A total of 146 participants were involved in the study. We investigated the human tendency to follow authority figures' instructions (rational and irrational), help injured people of different genders and ages, and social influence during an emergency. Moreover, we investigated how familiarity with the environment impacts human wayfinding performance when evacuating the building.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | decision-making; human behavior in earthquake emergency; immersive virtual reality; serious games; way-finding |
| Index terms: | human behaviour, strategy, decision-making, public space, safety measures, density, earthquake, virtual reality, wayfinding |
| Subjects: | decision analysis, management, virtual reality, environmental hazards, building performance, health safety and environment, urban design and public space, analytical methods, health behaviours and lifestyles |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Risk Management, Health and Safety, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Design Practice, Digital Applications, Urban Studies |
| Descriptive scope: | 2 PC |
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