TITLE:
The Psychology of Queuing
AUTHORS:
Adrian Furnham, Luke Treglown, George Horne
KEYWORDS:
Queuing, Waiting, Time, Environmental Moderators, Social Norms, Personal Space, Ideal Queues
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.11 No.3,
March
31,
2020
ABSTRACT: Queuing is still a fundamental function of how many businesses operate, yet there is not a clear understanding to impact the queuing environment to increase the amount of time an individual is willing to wait, improving an individual’s queuing experience, as well as reduce frustration and reneging. This paper presents a synthesis of the academic literature on queuing phenomenon. In particular, the paper focuses on the social norms of queuing, how they are upheld, and reactions to when they are violated; and environmental moderators, examining the impact of factors such as queue length, presence of information, music, light, and scent. Issues like the effect of number of people in a queue, personal space and the ideal queuing environment are discussed. Finally, this paper addresses limitations within the current body of research as well as proposing an agenda for future research.