I learned recently that in elevators in the US built after the early nineteen nineties, the door-close buttons do not work. They are there as a placebo, to give people a sense of control. What’s more, they are not the only placebos in our lives.
The head of the National Elevator Industry, Karen Penafiel, confirmed to The New York Times in a recent article that functional close-door buttons have been phased out since the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990 (Door open buttons still work). Federal law requires that the doors stay open long enough for those with crutches or a wheelchair to get in the elevator.
“The riding public would not be able to make those doors close any faster,” Penafiel told The Times.
And the newspaper notes this is not the only example of placebos “that promote an illusion of control but that in reality do not work.”
Signs may tell pedestrians to push a button and wait for the walk signal, but The Times reports that most of those buttons were deactivated more than a decade ago as computer-controlled traffic signals became more popular.
Additionally, some workplaces have installed “dummy thermostats,” according to The Times, and that has cut down on complaints about the temperature in the office.
So why does placebo technology exist? It all comes down to mental health, one local expert says.
“Perceived control is very important,” Harvard University psychology professor Ellen Langer tells The Times. “It diminishes stress and promotes well being.”
I wonder how many other placebos exist that I am unaware of.
I have long felt that the only people who use the door-close buttons are the chronically impatient since at best you only save a few seconds. They are the same people who get mad and honk at because you actually stop at a stop sign instead of rolling through or when you slow down when the traffic light ahead turns yellow so that you can stop without sharp braking, while they want you to accelerate through the light so that they can follow. They are the same people who, although someone has already pressed the elevator call button or the walk signal, will press it again, as if the people already waiting are dolts who have nothing better to do than stand around.
I am relieved to hear about the elevator door-close inactivation. There have been occasions when I am already in an elevator and someone comes running saying “Hold the elevator!” I try to push the door-open button but, because it is right next to the door-close button, by accident press the door-close one and am mortified when the doors close before the person can enter, thinking that that person will think I am a jerk and deliberately closed the door on them. At least now I know that I did not make it close faster as if I maliciously wanted to keep the latecomer out, but was merely inept.
Recently I was on an elevator, and the door didn’t close. Everyone was sitting around waiting for the elevator to do something for nearly two minutes before someone finally hit the close door button, and it closed immediately then started moving. Pretty sure that incident at least wasn’t a placebo, but also something screwed up, so it was maybe an older design?
i think they’re not just placebo, but for manual operation during testing and by fire department employees with the right access. as for crosswalks, i know many work, and the function seems to be for the benefit of cars. if no pedestrians are around to push them at certain intersections, they don’t activate at all. as a pedestrian those intersections are annoying because if you don’t hit them in time you can watch a window of time go by in which you could have been walking, but the lack of a walk signal makes it a lil more sketchy as to whether the cars will respect your flesh, so you stand around waiting for cars in every direction get a turn before you do.
Your source is CBS News, which is led by Bari Weiss. I wouldn’t trust anything CBS publishes.
Not every walk signal or elevator has been modified. I think it’s much more likely that impatient folks have rapidmashed those buttons into inoperability because I’ve seen it happen. I also think it’s more likely that maintenance budgets can/do be slashed.
I used to just wait patiently by the elevator when there was a person in the foyer ahead of me. But nowadays they’re young or on their phone or both, and they *don’t* press the button they want. So several cars go by and they are unsignalled and don’t stop. Or the light on the button has been pressed by them and they look oblivious but the light has burnt out so I push it like a ninny.
And placebo: for whom? I use a cane and need the whole signal time + walk sign to get across the street. When I hurry it hurts. On those signals where I think I’m in a hurry because I just got there and I cross anyways, or on the signals where the walk button absolutely does not work over several signals, I don’t feel any better. And aww those drivers who are in a traffic jam anyways can now get mad.
Ive seen some crosswalk signals/buttons go through at least three iterations since I’ve been here. when I first moved here, the pedestrian signals were automatic, and always came on regardless of whether someone pushed the button or not.
Then, a few years later, that changed, and they only came on when the button pressed -- i found this annoying as both a pedestrian and a cyclist -- as a cyclist, it’s useful to see the pedestrian signal and especially the countdown, so I know if I have time to clear an intersection or not. As a pedestrian, it’s like Bebe Melange said, it’s annoying to just miss the window to activate the signal, and wait through an entire light change cycle.
More recently, some of the pedestrian signals have changed to automatic, with the bonus of giving pedestrians (and cyclists) a ~3 second head start before the automobile signal turns green. Although, some car drivers have figured it out, and just use it as permission to blow a red for that much longer. :/
Placebo marriage!
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
.https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/what
I have long felt that the only people who use the door-close buttons are the chronically impatient since at best you only save a few seconds. They are the same people who get mad and honk at because you actually stop at a stop sign instead of rolling through or when you slow down when the traffic light ahead turns yellow so that you can stop without sharp braking…
Somehow I kinda doubt that any “perceived control” is really improving the well-being of those particular people. Seriously, is there any actual research showing that people like that have diminished stress from a door-close button sometimes appearing to have an effect? Or from leaning on their horns whether or not they see any effect?
“ I wonder how many other placebos exist that I am unaware of.”
You are allowed to cast a ballot in national elections.
You are not the only one who does that.
Q: If door close buttons in lifts work at all, does pressing one and not selecting a floor destination button result in some quiet, alone time?
It’s decades since I saw such a button in the UK*. We only see them in films where it visualises someone’s state of mind.
*OK, not counting the London Underground lift that was on a continuous shuttle between street and train platform levels. Its two buttons were “⬆️” and “⬇️”. I’m convinced that in normal operation the lift was on a continuous loop and the buttons did nothing at all except light up.
I used to tell my kids that we had to tap our feet on the floor to make the elevator arrive. On some slow ones we also had to pat our heads. All the evidence indicated I was right.
Whether pedestrian crossing signals work and how quickly they work is a decision made by traffic engineers with input from road safety. Best road safety practice is for the signal to respond as quickly as it is safe to stop the traffic, so exactly how fast depends on the average speed of traffic on the road. This is because crossing are expensive, they are only put in where there has been a history of vehicle pedestrian accidents, and if the crossing doesn’t respond fairly quickly pedestrians won’t bother to use it, but will still cross the road on a stretch known to be dangerous. Whether this actually happens on crossing not associated with other traffic lights very much depends on the policies set by your local Traffic Authority, and is something that you can change, certainly in the UK it ought to be changing since the prioritisation of pedestrians by the present government, so if it isn’t get onto your councillors.
As far as traffic lights at junctions go it is more complicated as the lights are there to promote the smooth flow of all traffic, but again in the UK that still ought to mean you get a crossing time every cycle, and if you don’t, again complain.
I am guilty of specifying dummy thermostats for some of my projects. A heating temperature setpoint of 70 degrees F will keep 85-90% of the people in the space comfortable the dummy thermostat will keep another 5-10% “comfortable”. It may seem like a trick on the occupants but it cuts down on nuisance trouble calls to maintenance staff.
I walk on my city (Duluth MN) streets often. I mostly ignore the lights, paying more attention to traffic to determine if it’s safe for me to cross at an intersection. But when I do need to wait, I push the button. A voice says “wait”. Then I always push it again, followed by me saying “don’t tell me.” That way I’m amused by thinking of my favorite radio show, which is, of course . . .
Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.