Pumped Up Kicks: The Impact of Social Contagion and Informational Cues on Evacuation Behavior and Exposure to Threat in a Simulated School Crisis

Abstract

As school shootings increase in frequency, understanding behavior in response to active shooter threats is essential for emergency disaster preparedness. This study utilized a 3D Unity simulation to examine how social and informational cues influence evacuation and exposure to threat. A total of 842 participants were assigned to one of 27 conditions in a 3 (NPC behavior: run, hide, mixed) × 3 (proximal information: run, hide, none) × 3 (public address: run, hide, none) design. Participants were more likely to evacuate when cues encouraged running, particularly when proximal information was present. However, congruent run cues increased exposure to threat, likely due to impulsive crowd-following. Individual factors such as age, positive affect, and experience with first-person shooter games predicted outcomes, suggesting variability in how people process and respond to high-stress situations. These findings highlight the need for emergency protocols that integrate clear communication and account for differences in response and awareness.