Beyond the physical travel distance, what common human psychological factor significantly contributes to increased evacuation times during an unexpected fire emergency?

The common human psychological factor is the denial of immediate threat. This refers to an individual's initial psychological resistance to accepting that a dangerous event, such as an unexpected fire, is actually happening and directly threatens them, despite clear sensory cues or alarms. This denial manifests as a "pre-evacuation delay," which is the period between the onset of an emergency signal (like a fire alarm sounding or the smell of smoke) and an individual's decision to initiate evacuation. Several cognitive processes contribute to this denial. Firstly, optimism bias ....