American passengers on the Titanic managed to get off the sinking cruise liner in time because they pushed their way into lifeboats, while their fellow British passengers politely queued, a Brisbane researcher has found.

Queensland University of Technology behavioural economist David Savage studied four maritime disasters of the 20th century to determine how people reacted in situations of life and death.

Using the key concepts of economics, being scarcity and self-interest, Mr Savage examined whether people reverted to a "survival of the fittest" mentality when faced with possible death.