Citation

Taylor JRI, Wogalter MS. Appl. Ergon. 2019; 80: 57-66.

Affiliation

North Carolina State University, Psychology Department, Human Factors and Applied Cognition, 640 Poe Hall, Raleigh, NC, 27695-7650, USA. Electronic address: wogalterm@gmail.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.apergo.2019.04.009

PMID

31280811

Abstract

Despite its importance, research examining the effectiveness of different egress warnings in fire emergencies has been sparse. This research examines language-based warnings presented visually in Experiment 1 and spoken format in Experiment 2 on their rated suitability as fire egress warnings. Two types of phrases were manipulated: egress immediacy and egress directives. Phrase ordering was also varied. Both experiments demonstrated a minimal fire warning without egress information is perceived less acceptable than warnings with egress information. The warnings rated as most acceptable contained egress directives indicating how to evacuate safely and that it should be done quickly. Furthermore, analyses on warning length revealed longer, specific warnings were rated higher than shorter warnings. However, data in Experiment 2 suggested the longest statements were rated lower than ones that were somewhat shorter.

RESULTS are discussed in terms of application to fire emergency warnings and general warning issues in emergencies.

Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Language: en