Encyclopedia Titanica

Noblesse Oblige? Determinants of Survival in a Life and Death Situation

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization

   Join Us and Hide Ads

This paper explored the determinants of survival in a life-and-death situation created by an external and unpredictable shock. We are interested to see whether pro-social behaviour matters in such extreme situations. We therefore focus on the sinking of the RMS Titanic as a quasi-natural experiment to provide behavioural evidence which is rare in such a controlled and life-threatening event. The empirical results support that social norms such as “women and children first” survive in such an environment. We also observe that women of reproductive age have a higher probability of surviving among women. On the other hand, we observe that crew members used their information advantage and their better access to resources (e.g. lifeboats) to generate a higher probability of surviving. The paper also finds that passenger class, fitness, group size, and cultural background matter.

by Bruno S. Freya, David A. Savage, Benno Torgler
Key Points

  • Social Norms Impact: Women and children had higher survival rates, reflecting the influence of social norms.
  • Crew Advantage: Crew members utilized information and resource access to increase survival chances.
  • Class Influence: First-class passengers had higher survival rates due to proximity to lifeboats and influence.
  • Reproductive Age Factor: Women of childbearing age were more likely to survive among women.
  • Altruism and Scarcity: The study examines prosocial behaviours under extreme conditions, challenging purely self-interested models.

Find it on doi.org

Encyclopedia Titanica is not responsible for the content of external sites, and the availability of links may change.

About Research References on Encyclopedia Titanica
This item is not available to read on Encyclopedia Titanica, but we have included it as a reference, provided a brief summary of the key points, and linked to the original source to help readers interested in the finer details of the Titanic story.

Find Related Items

Decision Under Pressure Altruism Social Norms Women and Children First Reproductive Age Class

Contribute

  Get in touch