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“On the right track”: Lighting as a function of a positive station perception? A study of the influence of light on the station perception of lust- and must travelers.

Kinkelder, Sanne de (2013) “On the right track”: Lighting as a function of a positive station perception? A study of the influence of light on the station perception of lust- and must travelers.

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Abstract:Waiting on a platform at a station hall is inevitable for train passengers. Because it is often not possible to shorten the waiting time, it is interesting to examine other possibilities to influence the behavior of train passengers. Travelers often have limited time and the consequence is that most of them stand still at the top of the stairs or at the exit of a platform (Helbing, Buzna, Johansson, & Werner, 2005).This phenomenon creates bottlenecks. Especially for service environments it is important to influence the environment through for example lighting, because this is easy to adapt on a platform instead of changing the whole station. Enriching this waiting environment can thus have a positive impact on travelers’ perception. To this end, this study explored whether lighting influences the station experience and perception of lust- and must travelers. The design consisted of a 2 (lighting: light vs. dark) x 2 (passenger’s travel objective: lust vs. must) between-subjects design. To influence the travel objectives a distinction was made between the so-called lust- and must travelers. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of the two scenarios where they were asked to imagine that they are going to travel by train and that they are in a hurry (or not). After reading the scenario, respondents were randomly divided in one of the lighting conditions. A PowerPoint was shown where a slideshow of pictures of the platform of Eindhoven passed by. The pictures consisted of snapshots from the beginning to the end of the platform. There was a difference in the PowerPoint. Half of the respondents saw a slideshow with light at the end of the platform, whereas the other half saw a slideshow where the whole platform was dark. The PowerPoint was intended to manipulate the lighting condition. The findings reveal that lust travelers experienced more arousal in the lighting condition compared to must travelers. Also a significant interaction effect was found for perceived control. Must travelers perceived more control in the dark condition compared to lust travelers. No significant differences were found for dominance and the place where travelers were waiting on the platform. Not many effects were found in this study, because there is a chance that the lighting manipulation was too subtle and it was too hard for respondents to project oneself into a scenario. It is thus recommended to perform this study in a real life setting.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:05 communication studies
Programme:Communication Studies MSc (60713)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/63439
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