ABSTRACT
Dr. Falk will make the case that museum experiences successfully support a major driver of human behavior—the desire for enhanced well-being. The author found that many people report that museum experiences make them feel better about themselves, more informed, happier, healthier, and more enriched; all directly related to enhanced well-being. He found a promising way to assess enhanced well-being, through visitor satisfaction, and will provide examples of what enhanced well-being “looks like” within the museum context, including specific expressions of awe, wonder, curiosity, and enjoyment. He will discuss what measurement of an enhanced construct of visitor satisfaction might look like and share some thoughts about ways in which museums can maximize visitor satisfaction and improve the effectiveness of the well-being-related experiences they provide.
