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The Effect of the Running‐Man Emergency Exit Sign and Its Installed Location on Human Directional Choice
Author(s) -
Kim Chobok,
Hur Minyoung,
Oh Yoonkyung,
Choi JunHo,
Jeong JongJin
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
applied cognitive psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.719
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1099-0720
pISSN - 0888-4080
DOI - 10.1002/acp.3293
Subject(s) - heading (navigation) , sign (mathematics) , psychology , task (project management) , point (geometry) , stroop effect , cognitive psychology , computer science , communication , simulation , cognition , engineering , geodesy , neuroscience , mathematics , geography , mathematical analysis , geometry , systems engineering
Summary Understanding the meaning of an emergency exit sign is essential for escaping from a building during a disaster. According to International Organization for Standardization 7010:2011, there are leftward and rightward running‐man exit signs indicating the location of an exit door. However, there is neither an application rule regarding which direction the sign should point nor a rule for where it should be attached in the horizontal dimension. We examined the effect of the heading direction of the running man and its horizontal locations on the selection of exit directions. A modified spatial Stroop task as an unforced‐choice task was designed by combining the running man's heading direction and its horizontal location. The results showed both facilitation and inhibition effects, conflict adaptation, and post‐error slowing reflecting top‐down control. These findings suggest that the heading direction of the running‐man exit sign includes evident directionality. This should be considered in designing and establishing standardized emergency exit signs. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.