Stres-reduction test...in an airport
Does serenity adds security? BWI (Baltimore Washington International Airport) will be rolling out the first of its kind pilot program for stress reduction in specific airport screening areas. I think this is a fabulous idea, as airports (especially post 9-11) are extremely stressful places. Racing to catch a plane, stuck in lines that move at a snails pace, then jostling to strip off all offending articles of clothing and accessories at the screening area, etc. I find myself much more anxious and short-tempered in airports.
This is a description of the special screening area:
Mauve, blue and purple panels of lights glow, low decibel ambient 'spa' music hums, and smiling employees offer quiet greetings and assistance.
TSA planners have been tinkering for months in a warehouse at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, testing these new aspects "You can actually influence some behavior subliminally through color," said Catherine Lillie, head of the checkpoint-testing team. source 
Coming from a profession where the psychological effects of color is basic knowledge, I have to chuckle at her seeming incredulity over the idea.
What do you think of the concept?
8 comments:
Incredibly stupid. Instead of trying to figure out which shade of eggplant purple is less stress inducing and which track of Enya to play, perhaps they can figure out how to attract people who:
-Speak the language.
-Care about the job.
-Have higher than a third grade education.
The majority of my delays comes not from planes but ignorant TSA screeners who can't figure out how to operate a magno-wand.
Have you ever seen the movie THX 1138? This kind of thinking induces terror and tension. The depersonalization of society. Maybe if they pumped massive sprays of tranquilizers into the air for further ambient atmospherics, we'd all be a lot happier and calmer.
When I was flying out of Logan Airport in Boston last fall, I saw a glass case over in their area for these things. I walked over to it for study. It was "samples" of things not to take on the plane: the usual knives and scissors and such. But there was a pizza wheel. I desperately wanted to take a picture of it, but there was a guard sitting to it's left, and I knew to even photograph this oddity would have me hauled off behind eggplant, azure and lavender walls for the real aggro.
Honestly? It kinda freaks me out. It looks so dark, and frankly, that's NOT a place that I want low-lighting and soothing music. There's a reason we need to be on high alert at airports, and it kinda pisses me off that the message here is, essentially, "Go back to sleep, kids, there's nothing to see here. Now close your eyes and listen to the soothing music while you bend over for the body-cavity search."
I find the whole thing fascinating. Do they really think that the environment is more soothing? It surprises me to see the video and read the description. They don't seem to match up do they? It seemed creapy to me...
i agree with really creepy, twilight zone stressful-no good.lb
Ditto what Keith said. Creepy, unnerving, and makes me think of George Orwell and Aldous Huxley.
It's almost surreal.
Creepy, creepy, creepy. Besides, there's no way to think things will proceed so smoothly in a jam-packed airport.
There are reasons I don't fly...
i totally agree- creepy, right?
i understand that when passengers are stressed and hurried, it's harder for screeners to pick out those who present a threat. but frankly, i'm not so sure this will do the trick.
they could start with the cold blue fluorescent lighting- perhaps a warm incandescent light would be less sterile, impersonal?
hilarious about the pizza wheel, tho'...
it looks like a discotheque :P
seriously though, i wish they would up their customer service instead.
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