A journey through the museum: Visit factors that prevent or further visitor satiation

Museums seek to provide visitors with memorable experiences. However, some visitors experience a hedonic decline and satiation after their visit. The present research aims to evaluate how the time spent, the route, and the anticipation of the visit might either prevent or further visitor satiation. A field study and a field experiment are performed. Findings reveal that spending more time in the museum and anticipating the content can increase the perceived satiation and diminish visitors' emotional response, although the attention level diminishes for short visits and when the content is not anticipated. In a real context, following a free route reduces perceived satiation, with visitors following a self-regulatory process and adapting the time spent to the level of satiation.