button pushers

I was driving in Berkeley today, running some errands of questionable importance, but they helped me avoid reading for my thesis...so it's all good. At many intersections, people were waiting for the light to change and repeatedly pushing the pedestrian light button whilst they waited. Now, maybe I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that one push is the same as 50 pushes, and it only (for most lights) makes the androgynous walking person light up rather than the rude, red hand. It's the same phenomenon at elevators, where some people seem to be under the impressing that the faster the call button is pushed, the more rapidly the elevator will arrive at their floor. I guess that's the question - do people really believe this? Or is it just something to do while waiting - something that gives the impression of control over the changing of the light or arrival speed of an elevator? These are the questions that keep me up at night, my friends.