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Re-Paying Attention to Visitor Behavior: A Re-Analysis using Meta-Analytic Techniques

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 June 2016

Yone Castro ,
Juan Botella  and
Mikel Asensio
Yone Castro
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
Juan Botella
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
Mikel Asensio*
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mikel Asensio. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid - Basic Psychology. Facultad de Psicología, despacho 19. Calle Iván Pavlov N° 6. Ciudad Universitaria de Cantoblanco. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. 28049. Madrid (Spain).Phone: +34–914974096. E-mail: mikel.asensio@uam.es
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Abstract

The present study describes a meta-analytic review of museum visitors’ behavior. Although there is a large number of visitor studies available, their cumulative importance has not been determined due to the lack of rigorous methods to determine common causes of visitors’ behaviors. We analyzed Serrell’s (1998) database of 110 studies, defining a number of variables that measure visitors’ behaviors in exhibition spaces which exceeded the most typical and obvious ones. We defined four indexes of effect size and obtained their combined estimates: average time per feature [ATF● = 0.43 (0.49; 0.37)], percentage of diligent visitors [dv● = 30% (0.39; 0.23)], inverse of velocity [Iv● = 4.07 min/100m2 (4.55; 3.59)], and stops per feature [SF● = 0.35 (0.38; 0.33)], and we analyzed the role of relevant moderating variables. Key findings indicate, for example, that the visiting time for each display element relates to the size of the exhibition and its newness, and visitor walking speed is higher in large exhibit areas. The indexes obtained in this study can be understood as references to be used for comparison with new evaluations. They may help to predict people’s behavior and appreciation of new exhibitions, identifying important problems in museum designs, and providing new research tools for this field.

Keywords

meta-analysismuseum studiesvisitor behavior
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 19 , 2016 , E39
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2016 

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