Most people do not have the patience to wait a few seconds for the elevator doors to shut, so they push the 'close' button to speed up the process. 

 

大多数人没有等待电梯自动关闭的耐心（虽然这个过程只有几秒钟），所以他们按“关门”键来加快关门速度。

 

However, some say this feature has been obsolete¹ since the 1990s, suggesting the button is a complete fake it will not close the doors any faster. 

 

Experts reveal that there numerous buttons in the world that do not live up to their name, but are present to make us feel in control. 

 

The Americans With Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, mandating² that elevators stay open long enough for someone with a physical disability, such as on crutches³ or in a wheelchair, to make it inside, Karen W. Penafiel, executive director of National Elevator Industry Inc., told Christopher Mele with The New York Times in an interview. 

 

"Although these buttons are useless to the average person, they do perform their proper function for firefighters and maintenance workers but only with a code or designated keys." 

 

Penafiel explains since an elevator's lifespan is around 25 years, it is safe to say that a majority, if any, do not have a functioning 'close' button but the 'open' button works when it is pushed. 

 

As bizarre as it seems to place fake buttons in an elevator or other devices, they are there for good reasons. 

 

'Perceived control is very important,' Ellen J. Langer, a psychology⁴ professor at Harvard University who has studied the illusion of control, told Mele in an email. 

 

'It diminishes stress and promotes well-being⁵.'

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