Pushing buttons is satisfying as all heck.
A button represents a modicum of control in
a chaotic world.
In the moment of pushing, you are the brief
master of your own fate.
All the forces humankind has harnessed have
come to bow under your finger.
Plus, buttons are shiny.
But does pressing them always have the promised
effect?
Do ‘close door’ buttons in elevators and
‘push to cross’ buttons at crosswalks
actually do anything?
Physically speaking, the answer is ‘not
always.’
Psychologically, the jury is out.
Let’s tackle the physical section first.
As of 2004, a representative from the Department
of Transportation in New York City said that
more than 75% of their crosswalk buttons had
no effect on their traffic signals.
And as of 2013 in the UK, transportation officials
reported that an unknown number of crosswalk
signals function automatically, regardless
of whether anyone presses the button.
The estimates that they could give regarding
nonfunctional buttons ranged from about 18
percent to 40 percent.
But why?
Many crosswalk buttons are relics of a time
before signal patterns were controlled by
computer systems to help streamline traffic.
Removing the buttons, especially in large
cities like New York, would cost millions.
So the folks in charge have generally chosen
to leave them standing.
In newer traffic control systems – for example,
SCOOT (the Split Cycle Offset Optimisation
Technique) - municipalities can program buttons
to turn on only some of the time.
Think of an intersection with lots of motor
traffic 24-hours a day, but pedestrian traffic
mostly during business hours.
During the day, when walk signals will likely
be useful during every signal cycle, the buttons
don’t work: The walk signal comes on automatically.
At night, when fewer people are on foot, you
have to press the button to stop traffic and
cross the street.
Meanwhile, reports on the functionality of
elevator ‘close door’ buttons vary by
the source.
The urban myth that they’re usually fake,
or that they’re only operable with use of
a key by emergency or repair personnel, seems
to stem from the Americans With Disabilities
Act of 1990.
Its current Accessibility Guidelines specify
that elevator doors must remain open for at
least three seconds.
In practice, this law may well render ‘close
door’ buttons useless to the particularly
impatient.
But there’s no reason to think that they’re
all – or even mostly - placebo buttons.
Yes, placebo buttons: This is the psychology
term for buttons that are designed to not
do anything.
They’re named after the placebo effect,
which my nemesis Josh Clark did a whole episode
about once.
In brief, the placebo effect is a confirmed
phenomenon in which people experience measurable,
clinical results with fake treatments due
to the apparent power of their belief in the
treatment.
In the world of buttons, placebos have been
installed on purpose in some workplaces in
the form of fake thermostats.
According to an informal survey conducted
by the online publication “Air Conditioning,
Heating & Refrigeration News”, a majority
of HVAC professionals have installed placebo
thermostats during their careers.
Or 51 out of 70 respondents, at any rate.
It seems that managers sometimes hope that
employees who would otherwise waste time complaining
about the temperature will be placated by
pressing a button, even if it doesn’t change
anything.
After all, even the illusion of control can
make us happier.
So what do you think?
Should non-operational crosswalk and elevator
buttons be left in place to soothe the masses?
Can people handle the truth?
Let us know in the comments.
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And for lots more about our easily fooled
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