Investigating Sustained Visitor/Museum Relationships: Employing Narrative Research in the Field of Museum Visitor Studies

ABSTRACT

Museums today are faced with a number of challenges and are currently searching for ways to attract and retain audiences and engage with the public. In order to address these issues, researchers have called for studies to help construct a more complete understanding of the visitor experience. Few studies employ methodological approaches that provide in-depth accounts of the museum experience. Narrative methodology is one means by which researchers may access rich accounts of the multi-faceted nature of audience relationships with museums. This article reports preliminary findings from a narrative research study that aimed to explore sustained visitor/museum relationships. The narrative methodology adopted for this study provides novel insights into the nature of these relationships and extends our understanding of those museum experiences that build and strengthen relationships with visitors.     

Visitor Motivations Across Three Informal Education Institutions: An Application of the Identity-Related Visitor Motivation Model

ABSTRACT

Recent studies suggest that visitors’ situated museum identities may be examined through the motivations expressed during visits to zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, and other museums. This article examines a tool published by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and J. Falk, Heimlich, and Bronnenkant (2008) for documenting visitors’ motivations at zoos, aquariums, and other informal education settings and compares motivations for visiting across three informal education sites. Surveys were administered to 370 adult visitors to an aquarium, science center, and boat-based eco-tour operator. Findings revealed both different motivations of visitors to these informal education institutions and seasonal changes to those motivations. Moreover, the motivations tool, which was created specifically to document visitor motivations in zoos and aquariums, was able to successfully document visitor motivations in such places as a science center and boat excursion company. It is not clear, however, that it sheds direct light on visitor identity. Modifications to the instrument and underlying taxonomy are suggested and theoretical issues are discussed and used to suggest further areas of research. Findings from the empirical work contribute to discussions of how informal education institutions may use visitor motivations data along with a theory of identity to better understand current audiences and reach new audiences.     

Museum Atmospherics: The Role of the Exhibition Environment in the Visitor Experience

ABSTRACT

This review presents atmospherics as a potential model for studying the interplay between visitors and the exhibition environment in informal learning settings such as museums. Atmospherics posits that the environment influences affective, cognitive, and behavioral responses, and that these responses can be shaped by design cues in the environment (Kotler, 1974). Atmospherics and the related model of the servicescape have informed research in a variety of retail, leisure, and entertainment settings (Chang & Horng, 2010; Turley & Milliman, 2000). Applying the atmospherics model to the museum environment has considerable potential for extending our understanding of the role that the exhibition environment plays in the museum visitor experience, and informing the design of informal learning settings.     

A Natural History Museum in Transition: Reflections on Visitor Studies in Practice

ABSTRACT

This article documents work done at The Natural History Museum, London in applying exhibit evaluation methodology to the re-configuration of an entire museum. Over a span of 20 years, traditional, curatorial, collection-centered exhibitions were replaced with those reflecting the latest trends in ‘visitor-friendly’ exhibit design. The methodology of exhibit evaluation, as it was being developed and refined in the United States, was used as the basic framework for carrying out this program. Front-end, formative, and summative evaluation techniques became the foundation for the preparation of new exhibition galleries throughout the museum. Here I reflect on the successes achieved and obstacles faced in this process of changing the status quo. The lessons learned still have relevance today for anyone who has tried to incorporate empirical, visitor-based insights into the preparation of museum exhibits and programs.     

Visitor Usage of Digital and Physical Artifacts in Two Museum Programs

ABSTRACT

This article reports on a study designed to explore how digital and physical reproductions of original artifacts could be incorporated into museum programs that teach visitors about mechanical motion. Museum visitors were introduced to 3 different types of models through 2 different programs: an engineering design challenge and an exhibit interpretation exploring mechanical motion in every-day objects. Research, based on visitor observation and interviews (n = 79), explored how user interaction with the digital and physical models compared with interactions with the original artifacts, assessed what effect the integration of digital and physical models had on learning, and examined what the learning experience looked like for learners using the mechanisms in the museum activities. Analysis of the learning conversations in additional in-depth case studies (n = 8) for both programs provides a detailed look at how visitors integrated the 3 different model types into their group's experience. Results showed that visitors' usage of, attitudes toward, and learning from the three different types of mechanical models varied based on the visitor or educators' perceived value of the particular model, which was impacted by the context in which the objects were presented.     

The Influence of Background Music on the Visitor Museum Experience: A Case Study of the Laiho Memorial Museum,Taiwan

ABSTRACT

The uses and functions of music within the museum environment are of both practical and theoretical interest. This article investigates the impact of background music on the museum visitor experience using information collected from 20 in-depth interviews with visitors to the Laiho Memorial Museum in Taiwan. Each participant heard either a piece of light music or a historical recording of a 1930s song while visiting Laiho's personal study exhibited in the museum. These two types of background music have comparable information loads, although they fit the exhibit to different degrees. Qualitative analysis of interview data indicates that background music played in museums has both emotional and cognitive influences on the visitor experience. This study showed that light music evoked warm and relaxed feelings in participants, whereas a 1930s song evoked feelings of nostalgia and curiosity to learn more about the song. The results are discussed in terms of the diverse needs, behaviors, and attitudes of museum visitors.     

Reconsidering The Love of Art: Evaluating the Potential of Art Museum Outreach

ABSTRACT

Art museums have long been identified as bastions of social and cultural exclusion. This conclusion was best evidenced by the large-scale 1967 French study by Bourdieu and Darbel demonstrating the exclusionary nature of The Love of Art. However, in recent years there have been increasing efforts to reach out to a broader range of visitors beyond conventional audiences. The present study investigates the impacts of an outreach program at a U.K. art museum, which sought to engage socially excluded young mothers. This study uses ethnographic research methods on a longitudinal basis to develop qualitative insights about the program seeking to mitigate cultural exclusion. Although the study's findings uphold many longstanding critiques of art museums’ conventional approaches, the study also indicates that carefully designed outreach activities can overcome such limitations and enhance cultural engagement. Thus, art museums’ limited appeal is tied to problematic public engagement practices that can be changed.     

Visitors' Motivations to Attend Special Events at Art Galleries: An Exploratory Study

ABSTRACT

With the growth in the number of special events being staged, the special event industry is becoming recognized as one that is influencing developments in tourism and related industries and institutions. Art galleries are one such institution increasingly recognizing the importance of special events to their audience development strategies. Special events enable galleries to make themselves more appealing to both their regular visitors and people who would not normally visit, because such events offer something that is “out of the ordinary” in comparison to what is normally offered. This article presents the findings of an exploratory study investigating the factors that motivate visitors to attend special events in galleries. Visitors were identified as either frequent visitors or occasional visitors. Interviews were conducted with 20 visitors who were attending 1 of 2 different events at 2 different art galleries. The different motivations expressed by the frequent visitors and the occasional visitors are described qualitatively and illustrated by direct quotations from participants' responses.     

From the Galleries to the Clinic: Applying Art Museum Lessons to Patient Care

Increasingly, medical educators integrate art-viewing into curricular interventions that teach clinical observation—often with local art museum educators. How can cross-disciplinary collaborators explicitly connect the skills learned in the art museum with those used at the bedside? One approach is for educators to align their pedagogical approach using similar teaching methods in the separate contexts of the galleries and the clinic. We describe two linked pedagogical exercises—Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) in the museum galleries and observation at the bedside—from “Training the Eye: Improving the Art of Physical Diagnosis,” an elective museum-based course at Harvard Medical School. It is our opinion that while strategic interactions with the visual arts can improve skills, it is essential for students to apply them in a clinical context with faculty support—requiring educators across disciplines to learn from one another.     

It's a Museum,But Not as We Know It: Issues for Local Residents Accessing the Museum of Old and New Art

The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), in Australia's island state of Tasmania, bears all the hallmarks of the new museology and a flagship museum. Located in a largely working class area, there are expectations of visitors from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, particularly local residents. However most visitors are tourists, middle-class, and highly educated. In this article, the authors ask, “What are the issues affecting accessibility to MONA for local residents?” In asking this, they aim to better understand local engagement with MONA and shed light on potential socio-cultural transformation. Using a survey, interviews, and focus groups with local residents, the authors found that accessibility at MONA is defined along familiar socioeconomic lines, though there are indications of change that warrant further investigation. The expense of food and beverage, concern about children's behavior, and the explicit nature of some art all impact on accessibility, particularly for those with less cultural capital.     

Hands-On,Shoes-Off: Multisensory Tools Enhance Family Engagement Within an Art Museum

Families with young children typically struggle to engage with traditional art museum environments. This research examined the impact of multisensory tools on family engagement within Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Qatar. Sixty families with at least one child aged 0–11 were observed during two tasks. One task required participants to look at a series of paintings to select their favorite. In another task, families were given a toolkit of multisensory items to facilitate interaction with a painting. A semi-structured observational method produced quantitative and qualitative data about participant engagement and intergenerational interaction. Self-rating scores of task enjoyment were also collected. Results indicate that multisensory tools enhance family engagement with museums, artworks, and each other. Results also suggest that word-based interpretation was not necessary. We consider the potential implications of these findings in relation to family programming within art museums and museums more generally.     

Dialogue and Synthesis: Developing Consensus in Visitor Research Methodology

ABSTRACT

This brief synthesis presents the main points of agreement between Dawson and Jensen's article, “‘Towards a ‘Contextual Turn’ in Visitor Studies: Evaluating Visitor Segmentation and Identity-Related Motivations” (this issue) and Falk's reply, “Contextualizing Falk's Identity-Related Visitor Motivation Model” (this issue), and it highlights important considerations for future research.     

Peer Influence: Mechanisms and Motivations

This research addresses a question that has not been previously – why do youths try to influence their friends’ behavior? Analysis of written accounts of peer influence toward both deviance and conformity reveals clear differences in motives for peer influence toward prosocial and deviant behavior. Influence toward deviant behavior is much more likely to be motivated by selfish concerns, and influence toward prosocial behavior is more likely to be motivated by altruistic concerns. These findings are consistent with the control theory view that crime and deviance is asocial behavior, and not the result of strong social ties to others.     

Assessing Motivations for Suicide Attempts: Development and Psychometric Properties of the Inventory of Motivations for Suicide Attempts

This study describes the psychometric properties of the Inventory of Motivations for Suicide Attempts (IMSA). The IMSA was designed to comprehensively assess motivations for suicide emphasized by major theories of suicidality. The IMSA was administered to two samples of recent suicide attempters, undergraduates (n = 66) and outpatients (n = 53). The IMSA exhibited a reliable two‐factor structure in which one factor represented Intrapersonal motivations related to ending emotional pain, and the second represented Interpersonal motivations related to communication or help‐seeking. Convergent validity and divergent validity of IMSA scales were supported by expected patterns of correlations with another measure of suicide motivations. In addition, the IMSA scales displayed clinical utility, in which greater endorsement of intrapersonal motivations was associated with greater intent to die, whereas greater endorsement of interpersonal motivations was associated with less lethal intent and greater likelihood of rescue. Findings suggest the IMSA can be of use for both research and clinical purposes when a comprehensive assessment of suicide motivations is desired.     

Patients' Motivations and the Analyst's Experience

Although the analyst's way of organizing what he or she hears is influenced by assumptions about human motivation, the analyst's experience in the room with a patient is quite removed from any theories about motivation he or she might hold. So compelling is the clinical interaction that it may only be retrospectively that it is possible to observe how one's theory of motivation influences one's work. Several years ago, on the day before I began working on this paper, I took verbatim notes on the last three sessions of a holiday shortened week to see whether I could discern what assumptions about motivation I was making. I would not describe my theory of motivation as it appears at the end of the essay the way I did at the time I wrote this essay. Today, I would try to integrate drive theory with object relations more explicitly.