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What Is Museum Fatigue? What is Museum Fatigue? Gareth Davey ABSTracT Research in the 920s and 930s revealed that museum visitor interest towards exhibits decreased as visits progressed, and this concept was coined “Museum Fatigue”. Since then, studies have shown that several behavioural changes characterise fatigued visitors, but the literature has not drawn them together. Further, the causes of museum fatigue remain speculative, and have not been evaluated in detail. This article reviews recent research about museum fatigue, and discusses its causes. Visitor attributes, the museum setting, and interaction between them, seem to underpin fatigue, and their relative importance differs according to the behavioural changes under investigation. An updated definition of museum fatigue is provided, along with suggestions for museum professionals to investigate fatigue within their museums. Further research is needed, particularly with cognitive psychologists, in order to unravel visitors’ cognitive mechanisms that play a role in interest towards exhibits. The earliest visitor studies were remain speculative, and have not been resign himself to seeing practically conducted by Benjamin Gilman in evaluated in detail. Understanding everything imperfectly and by a passing the 90s, Edward Robinson in the museum fatigue is important because glance”. In a later study, Robinson 920s, and Arthur Melton in the 930s visitor interest is correlated with (928) showed that museum fatigue (Gilman, 96; Robinson, 928; effective communication of exhibit generalised across four museums Melton, 933, 935; 936). They messages, and visitor learning (Falk, with varying characteristics. Melton noticed that some visitor behaviour was 983; Serrell, 997; Hein, 998; (935) provided further evidence for consistent across different museums, Bitgood, 2002; Falk and Dierking, the concept; he varied the number of and these patterns are now considered 2002; Falk and Storksdieck, 2005). To paintings in a museum gallery and to be rules of thumb within the Visitor address these issues, this article reviews observed decreased visitor interest as Studies field. One example is “Museum and analyses the literature about the number of displays increased. Fatigue”, a term that characterises museum fatigue, presents an updated decreased visitor interest towards More recently, Falk, Koran, Dierking definition, and provides an entry point and Dreblow (985) investigated exhibits as visits progress (Gilman, for museum professionals to research, 96; Robinson, 928; Melton, 935; museum fatigue at the Florida State and counteract, museum fatigue in their Falk et al., 985). Since these early Museum of Natural History. Visitors institutions. studies, research has shown that other were observed, during their entire behavioural changes characterise visits, for the occurrence of behaviours fatigued visitors. For example, it has A REVIEW OF MUSEUM FATIGUE indicative of either interest in museum been shown that visitor interest also exhibits, interest in other aspects of the decreases across a small number of Gilman (96) was the first to describe museum setting, attention towards other exhibits, and fatigued visitors tend to museum fatigue and his definition people, or self-interest. They found that cruise around galleries with increased focused on the effort required to people’s interest initially reached a high selectivity towards exhibits (Falk et al., observe displays. He noticed that plateau, then remained constant for 985). Museum fatigue is comprised of some exhibits at the Boston Museum about 30 minutes, and later decreased different phenomena but the literature of Fine Arts demanded more effort to to a lower level. Visitors’ orientation does not draw them together, and the view because of the way they were changed from initial slow movement concept remains ambiguous. Further, presented. He found that “after a brief around the exhibits, to cruising around explanations for museum fatigue initial exertion he [the visitor] will halls, and more selective stopping 2005 Volume 8 Issue 3 Visitor Studies Today 7 What is Museum Fatigue? behaviour (indicative of diminished The research summarised above (termed the “Visitor Attributes interest towards exhibits). shows there are several scenarios of Hypothesis), whereas the second how visitor interest decreases during explanation emphasises environmental Beverly Serrell has conducted a large museum visits. The behavioural factors (“The Environmental Attributes amount of work on the duration and changes could be grouped together Hypothesis”). Each hypothesis will allocation of visitors’ time in museums. under the umbrella definition of now be evaluated using the literature In a study at over 00 exhibitions “museum fatigue” because they all reviewed above. (Serrell 997; 998), she found that denote decreases in visitor interest visitors typically spent less than 20 during visits. The following conclusions 1. The Visitor Attributes Hypothesis minutes in exhibitions regardless of may be drawn from this literature: This hypothesis posits that factors topic and size. Her research supports associated with visitors are responsible the notion that visitors have a limited . The traditional view of museum fatigue is that visitor interest for decreases in visitor interest. For time frame after which their interest example, one attribute (put forward towards exhibits diminishes. decreases as visits progress. For example, it has been shown that by Melton, 935) is “physical Museum fatigue has also been observed interest reaches a high plateau for fatigue”, whereby visitors become in zoos. For example, Bitgood, the first 30 minutes of a visit, and physically tired as their visits progress. Patterson and Benefeld (986) found decreases thereafter. Indeed, Melton (935) compared a museum visit with a hike. However, that visitors in Birmingham Zoo’s 2. A second pattern, whereby visitor this explanation is limited. Visitors reptile house viewed the first reptile interest decreases within smaller areas (such as a succession of sometimes display fatigue after only a exhibit for longer than subsequent few minutes, or across a small number exhibits, and this pattern was upheld displays), has also been reported. 3. The behavioural changes that of exhibits: “truly an exceedingly short when visitor flow was reversed. time for the production of pronounced Similarly, Marcellini and Jenssen categorise fatigued visitors include cruising through galleries, relatively physical fatigue” (Melton, 935). (988) tracked visitors as they travelled Can physical fatigue really explain through a reptile house and observed rapid rates of viewing without rest periods, and increased selectivity decreased interest across a few exhibits similar behaviour. This pattern also towards exhibits. in succession? existed when traffic flow was reversed. 4. Patterns of fatigue are generally They state “In normal flow, exhibits Cognitive processing has also been constant and predictable within proposed as a determinant of fatigue A–E were more attractive and held an institution and, further, the visitors significantly longer than areas (Melton, 935; Bitgood, 2002), concept generalises across different although this suggestion is difficult D–F….However, reversing the traffic museums. flow dramatically reversed the situation. to evaluate because of the lack Areas D–F became more attractive and of integration between cognitive held visitors significantly longer than CAUSES OF MUSEUM FATIGUE psychology and visitor studies. Some researchers have argued that cognitive A–E”. In another approach, Mitchell The reasons previously put forward processes such as attention capacity et al. (990) found that an exhibit near to explain museum fatigue will now (attention span) play a role; the amount a zoo entrance received significantly be reviewed. It is generally regarded of processing capacity that people more visitors than an exhibit further that the manner in which people possess is limited (the cognitive away. A third exhibit, even further from interact with the museum environment resource decreases with time and the main path, received less visitors. All is determined by people’s individual effort), and people tend to focus on cages were almost identical in form, attributes, factors associated with the one thing at a time (Kahneman, 973; and the location effects persisted when museum environment, and interaction Hampson and Morris, 996; Bitgood, animal inhabitants were swapped. A between them (Melton, 935; Falk 2002). According to this explanation, possible explanation for this result is et al., 985; Bitgood, 2002). These limited attention capabilities underpin visitor fatigue because fatigued visitors explanations have never been explicitly museum fatigue because there is are more selective, and therefore likely stated as hypotheses before, and are insufficient capacity for attention to skip exhibits (Robinson, 93; Falk therefore discussed here. The first towards exhibits during later stages of et al., 985). explanation focuses on visitor attributes visits (due to the mental effort exerted 8 Visitor Studies Today Volume 8 Issue 3 2005 during initial stages of a visit; Melton, who state, “this view suggests that the Patterson, & Litwak, 99; Bitgood, 935; Bitgood, 2002). Support for best way to predict visitor behaviour 2002). Most studies have focused on this argument comes from the fact is to know more about the visitors as the influence of one or two variables. that decrements in visitor interest are individuals. Thus, X% of the visitors
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