Interaction Effects of Evacuation Map Luminance and Forced Observation on Evacuation Behavior in a Virtual Reality Environment

Current fire safety standards for photoluminescent evacuation maps focus solely on passive visibility, which increases the cognitive load on occupants during high-stress, low-visibility disasters. This study empirically investigated the interaction effects of evacuation map luminance and prior evacuation instructions on occupant behavior from a micro perspective. A controlled virtual-reality experiment with 120 participants analyzed within-subject differences and the frequency of fatal cognitive errors between free and forced observation evacuation conditions across four luminance groups (0, 40, 200, and 1,000 cd/m²). The results indicated that, in low-luminance environments, instructions to check the map exacerbated cognitive load and delayed evacuation. Conversely, under high-luminance conditions, instructions improved the evacuation speed and reduced microcognitive errors. This suggests that high-luminance evacuation maps can function as “visual anchors,” assisting evacuees with intuitive decision-making during disasters.