Greater perceived threat of death produces more solidarity among strangers, not more competition.

Evidence

A number of our interviewees referred explicitly to being particularly concerned for the loved ones they were with, and some of the reports of helping referred to affiliates. However most helping did not involve friends or family members. The solidarity exhibited was amongst strangers, despite (or, as we would argue, because of) the danger. Not only does this data conflict with the predictions of the affiliation model (Mawson, 2005), it again stands in direct contradiction to the ‘mass panic’ approach. The ‘mass panic’ approach would predict that, in cases of entrapment, the greater the perceived threat of death, the more the individual will act competitively ( Johnson, Feinberg, & Johnson, 1994). In the present case, however, the opposite was found: those who expressed the most solidarity behaviourally were in turn those who reported strong shared identification due to the shared fate they experienced in the crowd. — John Drury and Chris Cocking and Steve Reicher, Everyone for themselves? A comparative…, 110

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the counter-narrative on crowd behaviour in emergencies, contrasting with the ‘mass panic’ myth that also appears in disaster sociology and popular media accounts. — connects to: Solidarity among emergency survivors stems from perceiving strangers as oneself. — John Drury and Chris Cocking and Steve Reicher, Everyone for themselves? A comparative…, 14; Shared danger of death heightens unity among strangers in an emergency. — John Drury and Chris Cocking and Steve Reicher, Everyone for themselves? A comparative…, 104; Fear of death and self-uncertainty motivate people to join groups — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2338 (+7 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John Drury and Chris Cocking and Steve Reicher, Everyone for themselves? A comparative…, 110

Related

• Shared danger of death heightens unity among strangers in an emergency. (similarity 0.93)
• Shared danger makes people feel close to strangers and motivates mutual help. (similarity 0.90)
• Shared fate in danger makes strangers act as one group offering help. (similarity 0.89)
• Solidarity among emergency survivors stems from perceiving strangers as oneself. (similarity 0.87)
• Shared social identity is the causal variable predicting solidarity among disaster strangers. (similarity 0.87)
• Shared identity turns crowds from irrational mobs into solidarity-based adaptive resources (similarity 0.86)
• Disaster survivors in a crowd describe intense unity with strangers. (similarity 0.86)
• Shared identity that enables crowd helping often emerges during an emergency rather than pre-existing. (similarity 0.86)
• Shared identity with a crowd increases helping and decreases pushing others aside. (similarity 0.86)
• Observing others act together drives disaster solidarity more than identification (similarity 0.85)
• People act collectively in emergencies despite being conditioned toward individual self-interest. (similarity 0.85)
• Collectively experienced trauma makes victims identify as one group, motivating help (similarity 0.85)
• Emergency crowds can generate new social bonds among strangers. (similarity 0.85)
• Shared identity in crowds produces solidarity and expected mutual support. (similarity 0.85)
• Solidarity with strangers can arise without prior attachment figures present (similarity 0.85)

Broader Connections

• Shared danger makes people feel close to strangers and motivates mutual help. #corroborates (0.90) — John Drury, The role of social identity processes…, 74
• Post-disaster solidarity toward strangers stems from emergent shared social identity, not prior personal ties. #corroborates (0.78) — John Drury and Rupert Brown and Roberto González and Daniel Miranda, Emergent social identity and observing…, 118
• Shared identity with a crowd increases helping and decreases pushing others aside. #corroborates (0.75) — John Drury, The role of social identity processes…, 56
• Internal violence strengthens rather than dilutes European solidarity. #exemplifies (0.75) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 782
• A psychological crowd forms from mere co-presence under shared threat. #expands (0.73) — John Drury and Chris Cocking and Steve Reicher, Everyone for themselves? A comparative…, 104
• Fear of death and self-uncertainty motivate people to join groups #expands (0.72) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2338
• Shared prejudice threats build protective ingroup solidarity #qualifies (0.72) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 952
• Solidarity degenerates into fear-driven obedience when followers forfeit independent judgment #qualifies (0.72)