How BIPs lead to Watery Graves

[AFK]

I found an interesting article from Discovery News that was posted on MSNBC.com
It concerns a study done on the survivors of the Titanic. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28857579/

They cut the data on who survived vs who didn't based on many factors including gender, age, and most interesting, nationality.  The study found that an American on the boat had an increased chance of surviving the accident as compared to someone on the boat who was British.  The reasons why are suggested by eye-witness accounts who said that the British, by-and-large, calmly qued up to get on the scant lifeboats available.  Meanwhile, the Americans were pushing their way to the front of the lines. 

The aim was to determine whether people reverted to a "survival of the fittest" mentality when it was a matter of life and death.

"The Titanic was built in Great Britain, operated by British subjects, and manned by a British crew. It is to be expected that national ties were activated during the disaster and that the crew would give preference to British subjects, easily identified by their language," the researchers said.

Savage and Frey realized that assumption was off after investigating passenger data.

They found that British passengers, who queued for a place in one of only 20 lifeboats provided for the 2,223 on board, had 10 percent lower chance of survival than any other nationality.

In contrast, Americans, who reportedly elbowed their way to the front of lines, had a 12 percent higher probability of survival than British subjects.

"Be British, boys, be British!" the captain, Edward John Smith, shouted out, according to witnesses.

"Being British" meant to forget mass panic behavior — everyone looking after themselves — and rather follow the social norm of "women and children first."

This social norm was indeed followed on the Titanic, proving that altruism does make a difference in life and death situations.

It's an interesting study and raises lots of questions.  Why, even in the face of an icy death, did some stay true to their social norms?  For the Americans, it benefitted them, for the British who didn't make it onto a lifeboat, it obviously didn't work out so well.  It seems for some, social norms have a stronger influence than the "fight or flight" response. 

OR, is the "fight or flight" response not instinct afterall and a learned trait? 

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

I'd say it might lend some support to the idea that social norms may impact the 'imprint' of fight/flee survival instincts.

If you're programmed to consider calm and proper behavior as more important than life...


well, you're probably crazy

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

"Women and children first" benefits the bloodline, and that's a powerful incentive in itself.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

I wonder how much the CoN plays into this?

I mean, did the British think that Orderly Behavior was the Correct Way to Survive? We're they acting on robotics... "I MUST STAND IN LINE BECAUSE THAT CHAP IN THE HAT SAID TO", or was it more of a "If I follow the order set up, I will survive,"... or was it stoic British "So this is how I die; standing in a queue while some asshole from the Colonies knocks over three people to steal a seat".

We're they robotic respondents, victims of the Con known as the Aneristic Delusion, or simply calm in the face of death, considering their personal honor as more important than survival?

[Cain]

Fear could also play a role.  Dependent on size or age, acting in a pushy manner could be seen as an invitation for everyone to break the rules, a situation where the individual may have an even worse chance of survival when taking into account purely physical factors.

This doesn't account for everyone, but I'm sure its true for some of the crowd.