Impact of the local dynamics on exit choice behaviour in evacuation model

Abstract

This study investigated the interplay between exit selection models and local pedestrian movement patterns within floor field frameworks. Specifically, this investigation analysed the performance of a multinomial logit exit choice model, incorporating both expected utility theory and cumulative prospect theory frameworks when coupled with three distinct local-level pedestrian movement models (FF-Von Neumann, FF-Moore, and NSFF). The expected utility theory framework considers the deterministic component as a linear relationship, while the cumulative prospect theory framework further considers the decision-maker’s risky attitudes by transforming objective terms into subjective terms using a power value function. The core objective was to comprehend how local movement dynamics, as represented by the floor field models, influence decision-making during exit selection. Comparative analyses revealed intriguing variations between the three local models, despite their shared expected utility theory-based exit choice framework. These discrepancies stemmed from the diverse pedestrian trajectory behaviours generated by each model. Consequently, these local dynamics impacted the decision-maker’s assessment of critical factors, such as the number of evacuees close to the decision-maker (𝑁𝐶𝐷𝑀) and the number of evacuees close to an exit (𝑁𝐶𝐸), which the exit choice model incorporates. These assessments, in turn, significantly affected higher-level decision-making. The integration of the three models with the multinomial logit exit choice model, using either cumulative prospect theory and expected utility theory frameworks, further strengthened the observed bilateral relationship. While the specific nature of this relationship varied depending on the chosen framework and its implementation details, these consistent findings demonstrate the robustness of the results. This reinforced the influence of local-level pedestrian dynamics on higher-level exit selection, highlighting the importance of accurate crowd dynamics modelling, especially when advanced exit choice models consider local movement factors.