Crowds

So, tomorrow we're holding one final design session and we decided to do more data collection in order to cover questions raised but not answered by the evaluations.

CROWDS

I investigated decision making in crowds.

The space colonization algorithm is a mathematical model of how a crowd behaviour simulation can be designed. Defining features by the algorithm designers are: 1, People try avoid colliding with one another. 2, Crowding slows the movement speed of all individual agents contained. 3, When moving as a crowd we line up like a game of Följa John.  

Another journal article from the field of computer science and synthesis of crowd behavior adds:

1, Crowds do compete for space but they also cooperate cause that is the social norm.

Reminds me of observations by our group members. Not doing your best to provide space for your co-commuters might just get you a wigging.

This psychology article about referee decisions in a game of football is interesting too. In their results the referee, though conflicted by the outer pressure NOT to favour the home team, they actually did. Why? Noises from the stands made them unwilling to displease the crowd.

This study from a cognition science perspective confirms some of the above insights but also stresses that as density of crowds increase the line up principle breaks down and some of us, individually, starts to try and find find better ways through based on what we see in front of us. Problem arises when there is something affecting the crowd happening out of our sight. This is actually dangerous and can be the source of crowd disasters according to the study.

Finally, a study which is a merge of mathematics and social psychology, actually studying economics. This is interesting cause it states that small crowds are much more rational decision makers then individuals.