Effects of the Display Angle on Social Behaviors of the People around the Display

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate through a field study how the angles (horizontal, tilted, and vertical angles) of displays deployed in a public space (at a museum) impact the social behaviors of the people around the display. In the field study, we collected both quantitative and qualitative data of more than 700 museum visitors over a period of approximately three months. Findings of our study include the following: (1) the horizontal and vertical display angles have a higher honeypot effect, i.e., people interacting with a display attract other people, than the tilted display angle, (2) the vertical display angle, compared to the horizontal and tilted display angles, attracts several people to the display and encourages them to stay in the display space and share the space for a short period of time (88 seconds on average), and as a result, people frequently enter and leave the space with a display, and (3) display angles closer to the horizontal promotes the side-by-side arrangement, and display angles closer to the vertical promotes the L-shaped arrangement of F-formation. The findings in our study help design a public display deployed in museums and other public spaces.