Take Your Eyes off Me. The Effect of the Presence of Witnesses on the Conduct of Rescue Operations
Aim: During rescue operations, firefighters function in a social setting, and therefore they remain under social influence and exert it themselves. One of the subtle manifestations of social influence is the social facilitation effect in changing the speed and quality of operations as a result of being watched by other people. This phenomenon seems to be explained by the attentional model, which predicts that in the presence of third parties attention is narrowed, which may lead to deterioration of, or improvement in, task performance (depending on conditions). The authors addressed the research question whether firefighters are affected by to the phenomenon of social facilitation during rescue operations - the presence of bystanders affecting the performance of their tasks. Design and methods: To answer the question of whether, during rescue operations, firefighters may be subject to the phenomenon of facilitation induced by the presence of bystanders, we conducted an exploratory qualitative study based on 18 partially-structured interviews inspired by the phenomeno - logical method, with rescuers from the State Fire Service. The interviewees’ responses were subjected to content analysis in terms of the behaviour of bystanders witnessing their activities. Interviews were analysed according to IPA with the use of qualitative data analysis software Atlas.ti. Results: Our analysis of the interviews suggests that social circumstances during rescue operations are conducive to the occurrence of the phenomenon of social facilitation. The collected data indicating the witnesses’ impact on firefighters allowed two different types of bystander behaviour, which impair the work of firefighters during operations: documenting actions of firefighters by witnesses (e.g. by recording) and conscious hindering of fire-fighting operations. The collected material also allows us to draw the conclusion that, for the rescuers in these situations, the presence of witnesses is emotionally charged - the witnesses evoke emotions (such as fear of consequences). Conclusions: The results suggest that the course of rescuers’ operations is influenced by bystanders. In addition, we identified some factors that espe - cially hinder these activities. From a practical point of view, the filming of rescue operations by bystanders seems to be the most problematic. It is likely that this practice, which has a negative impact on the course of rescue activities, will intensify in the near future. Thus the system should be prepared for the increasing pressure from witnesses, and in particular should provide training to equip rescuers with the skills necessary to minimise the negative consequences of the audience effect.