Take Care with Red (07-15-16)
People with different personality traits—particularly differences related to sensation seeking (described below)—seem to respond in different ways to seeing the color red. Mehta, Demmers, van Dolen, and Weinberg report that “Previous research has shown that the color red, as compared to other colors, leads to the highest level of compliance and induces conformity not only with instructions and warnings but also with social norms. . . . [however] exposure to the color red may in fact lead to higher non-compliant behavior [for higher sensation seekers].” Mehta and team detail some of the non-compliant behavior they found during the course of their study, “participants were presented with a public service announcement (PSA) recommending regular use of sunscreen, either on a red or a white background screen. . . the color red . . . activated reactance for high sensation-seekers. . . . these participants demonstrated higher negative willingness and motivation to use sunscreen.” The study is important because “Red is often used to signal danger, warn people, and prevent or stop people from engaging in unwanted behavior.” Wikipedia, quoting Zuckerman (2009), introduces sensation seeking in this way: “Sensation seeking is a personality trait defined by the search for experiences and feelings, that are ‘varied, novel, complex and intense’, and by the readiness to ‘take physical, social, legal, and financial risks for the sake of such experiences” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensation_seeking).
Ravi Mehta, Joris Demmers, Willemijn van Dolen, and Charles Weinberg. “When Red Means Go: Non-Normative Effects of Red Under Sensation Seeking.” Journal of Consumer Psychology, in press.
Continued Effects of Blue Light (07-14-16)
A research team lead by Alkozei has learned that being in blue light continues to affect how our minds work—experiencing blue light has been linked to higher alertness and quicker decision making—even after we leave a blue lit area. As a press release issued by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine reports “a short single exposure to blue light for half an hour is sufficient to produce measurable changes in reaction times and more efficient responses (answered more items correctly per second) . . . after the light exposure had ended. . . . ‘these beneficial effects of blue wavelength light may outlast the exposure period by over 40 minutes,’ said lead author Anna Alkozei, PhD. . . . ‘Blue-enriched white light could be used in a variety of occupational settings where alertness and quick decision making are important, such as pilot cockpits, operation rooms, or military settings.’” Study participants spent 30 minutes in either blue or amber light before being tested. The amber light served as a placebo condition. Information on Pubfacts details the technical parameters of the blue light (469 nm) as well as the amber light (578 nm) used by researchers.
Anna Alkozei, Ryan Smith, Derek Pisner, John Vanuk, Sara Markowski, Andrew Fridman, Bradley Shane, Sara Knight, and William Kilgore. 2016. “Exposure to Blue Light Increases Subsequent Functional Activation of the Prefrontal Cortex During Performance of a Working Memory Task.” Sleep, in press, http://www.pubfacts.com/author/Anna+Alkozei
“Individuals Exposed to Blue Wavelength Lights Experienced Faster Reaction Times.” 2016. Press release, American Academy of Sleep Medicine, http://www.aasmnet.org/articles.aspx?id=6317
Design for Walking Meetings (07-13-16)
Converting seated meetings to walking meetings is good for our physical health. A study published in Preventing Chronic Disease indicates that “Changing just one seated meeting . . . into a walking meeting increased the work-related physical activity levels of white-collar workers by 10 minutes. . . Previous studies have proven that engaging in moderate exercise, which includes brisk walking for as little as 15 minutes per day, can add up to three years of life expectancy.” Design can support walking meetings by providing spaces to walk that are free of trip hazards and distracting or irritating sounds, are wide enough for a small working conversation, etc.
“Walking Meetings Could Give Office Workers Longer, Healthier Lives, Study Shows.” 2016. Press Release, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, http://med.miami.edu/news/walking-meetings-could-give-office-workers-longer-healthier-lives-says-stud/.
More on Activity While Working (07-11-16)
Pilcher and Baker wanted to learn more about the relationship between moving in some way while working and professional performance. They had people participating in their study work on a desktop while pedaling (at a FitDesk, described below) and also at a traditional sedentary desk. The researchers found that when study “participants pedaled the stationary bicycle at a slow pace (similar in exertion to a normal walking pace) while working. . . cognitive task performance did not change between the two workstations. However, positive affect [mood], motivation, and morale improved when using the stationary bicycle. . . . Positive affect is associated with improved problem solving and decision making which can lead to flexible and creative cognitive processing (Isen, 2001) and can help facilitate coping mechanisms and healthy behaviors in individuals (Aspinwall, 1997).” Questions from the LSAT (Law School Admission Test), for example, were used to assess cognitive task performance. The FitDesk is a “silent, stationary bike with a desk top which allows the user to work on a laptop or tablet while pedaling the bike. . . .the desk top [is] located at a comfortable distance from an adjustable height seat.” Study participants used the FitDesks for two one-hour professional work-type sessions before data were collected.
June Pilcher and Victoria Baker. 2016. “Task Performance and Meta-Cognitive Outcomes When Using Activity Workstations and Traditional Desks.” Frontiers in Psychology, http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00957/full.
Sunlight and Wellbeing, at Home (07-06-16)
Swanson and her team have found that psychological wellbeing levels are higher when people have more sunlight in their homes. During research conducted in Scotland, the researchers estimated how much natural light could possibly enter a home, factoring in window size and orientation, if anything (such as furniture) was blocking the flow of light into a home and occupant behavior. They called their estimate “annual sunlight opportunity.” Calculations identified “a significant positive association between well-being and annual indoor sunlight opportunity but no relationship between sunlight and objective indoor environmental variables, including air quality, bacteria, and fungi.”
Vivien Swanson Tim Sharpe, Colin Porteous, Colin Hunter, and Donald Shearer. 2016. “Indoor Annual Sunlight Opportunity in Domestic Dwellings May Predict Well-Being in Urban Residents in Scotland.” Ecopsychology, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 121-130.
Place People and People People (07-01-16)
Some of us are more attentive to the people around us and others to the place we're in. McIntyre and Graziano report that “Individuals differ in how they deploy attention to their physical and social environments. . . . we conducted two studies to explore the links among attentional processes and interests in people and things. . . . Outcomes from both studies suggest that attention and motivational processes are linked to differential interests in physical and social environments.” This McIntyre/Graziano study indicates, for example, that “place people” and “people people” reporting on previous experiences will focus on different aspects of the same situation.
Miranda McIntyre and William Graziano. “Seeing People, Seeing Things: Individual Differences in Selective Attention.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, in press.
Scarcity and Creativity (06-30-16)
Mehta and Zhu have learned that when we believe that resources are limited, we may think more creatively. As a press release for their study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, states, “A series of studies showed that scarcity versus abundance leads to creativity by encouraging more novel use of everyday items. Consumers preconditioned to think in terms of scarcity and constraint came up with more innovative, nontraditional uses for the same items given to consumers preconditioned to think in terms of abundance. . . . participants were asked to generate designs for an improved computer keyboard. Again, those in a scarcity mindset came up with more novel and imaginative ideas than those in a mindset of abundance.”
“Too Much Stuff: Is a Thriving Economy Killing Our Creativity?” 2016. Press release, Journal of Consumer Research, http://www.ejcr.org.
Greenspace and Adolescents (06-29-16)
Younan and team linked neighborhood greenspace to less aggressive behavior by adolescents living nearby. As the researchers explain, “Neighborhood greenspace improves mental health of urban-dwelling populations. . . We conducted a prospective study on urban-dwelling adolescents to examine the association between greenspace in residential neighborhood and aggressive behaviors. . . . . Both short-term (1- to 6-month) and long-term (1- to 3-year) exposures to greenspace within 1,000 meters surrounding residences were associated with reduced aggressive behaviors.” Statistical techniques were used to eliminate socioeconomic status, age, and race/ethnicity as the explanations for the effects found.
Diana Younan, Catherine Tuvblad, Lianfa Li and 8 others. 2016. “Environmental Determinants of Aggression in Adolescents: Role of Urban Neighborhood Greenspace.” Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, vol. 55, no. 7, pp. 591-601.
Nurturing Feeling-of-Knowing (06-28-16)
Feeling-of-knowing (FOK) is that impression we all get from time to time that we know something, such as the answer to a question someone is asking us, but that we can’t recall that information at the time we’re being asked for it. Hanczakowski and team found that “FOK judgments increase in the presence of a familiar environmental context.” Familiar in this case means one that has been experienced (seen, for example) in the past.
Maciej Hanczakowski, Kataryna Zawadzka, Harriet Collie, and Bill Macken. “Metamemory In a Familiar Place: The Effects of Environmental Context on Feeling of Knowing.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, in press
Rx: 30 Minutes of Nature a Week (06-27-16)
Shanahan and her team investigated links between the amount of time spent outside per week and mental and physical health. Their research determined that 30 minutes outside per week can significantly improve wellbeing. According to the researchers, “Nature within cities will have a central role in helping address key global public health challenges associated with urbanization. . . . A dose-response analysis for depression and high blood pressure suggest that visits to outdoor green spaces of 30 minutes or more [total] during the course of a week could reduce the population prevalence of these illnesses by up to 7% and 9% respectively.” This research provides even more support for in-city green spaces.
Danielle Shanahan, Robert Bush, Kevin Gaston, Brenda Lin, Julie Dean, Elizabeth Barber and Richard Fuller. 2016. “Health Benefits from Nature Experiences Depend on Dose.” Scientific Reports, http://www.nature.com/articles/srep28551
Workplace Distractions (06-24-16)
Oxford Economics surveyed over 1,200 workers from around the world. They found that “The ability to focus without interruptions is a top priority for employees [of all ages] when it comes to office design; access to amenities like free food is far less important. . . . Nearly two-thirds of executives say employees are equipped with the tools they need to deal with distractions at work; less than half of employees agree.” The researchers found that “Millennials are more likely to say noise distracts them from work, and in general are more annoyed by ambient noise in the office. In fact, they are more likely to take steps—like listening to music or leaving their desks—to drown out noise and to say blocking out distractions increases their productivity and improves their mood.”
Oxford Economics. 2016. “When the Walls Come Down.” https://www.oxfordeconomics.com/my-oxford/projects/336497.
Designing for Waiting (06-23-16)
Ossmann reports on a comprehensive study of waiting area experiences. She shares that “To explore the link between more supportive waiting room design and an improved patient experience, researchers partnered with a major academic medical center in the southeastern United States.” The investigators found that in the waiting spaces where observations were conducted “one-third of the seating was situated facing windows, which in the study setting negated a view to the desk or doors. However, based on the observations, patients greatly preferred a view to information sources, choosing those seats more frequently. Additionally, roughly 20% of the waiting room chairs were occupied with personal items, whether as a means of spatial separation from other groups or lack of designated space for these items.” After initial observations were completed, the researchers modified the environment by, for example, introducing “Wider seats and armrests to provide separation from strangers and allow more room for personal belongings; Seating designed for family groupings and social interactions, where desired; . . . [and] More seating with views of both information sources and exterior windows.” The new waiting spaces were more positively evaluated than the original ones.
Although this research was conducted in a healthcare facility, its basic findings are relevant to the design of other waiting spaces.
Michelle Ossmann. 2016. “Healthcare Waiting Room Design.” Facility Executive, http://facilityexecutive.com/2016/06/healthcare-waiting-room-design/.
Street Lighting Guidance from the AMA (06-22-16)
The American Medical Association (AMA) assessed street lighting in the United States and reports that “High-intensity LED [light emitting diodes] lighting designs emit a large amount of blue light that appears white to the naked eye and create worse nighttime glare than conventional lighting. . . . blue-rich LED streetlights operate at a wavelength that most adversely suppresses melatonin [which helps regulate sleep] during night. It is estimated that white LED lamps have five times greater impact on circadian sleep rhythms than conventional street lamps [in other words, they keep people from sleeping as they should]. Recent large surveys found that brighter residential nighttime lighting is associated with reduced sleep times, dissatisfaction with sleep quality, excessive sleepiness, impaired daytime functioning and obesity. . . . the AMA encourages communities to minimize and control blue-rich environmental lighting. . . . The AMA recommends an intensity threshold for optimal LED lighting that minimizes blue-rich light.”
“AMA Adopts Community Guidance to Reduce the Harmful Human and Environmental Effects of High Intensity Street Lighting.” 2016. Press release, American Medical Association, http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/news/news/2016/2016-06-14-community-guid....
Designing for Human Contact (06-17-16)
Designing opportunities to interact with humans into service centers is a good idea. In a study of tourist offices, Arana and colleagues found that “the human factor is . . . key in providing satisfaction to visitors. . . . visitors place higher values on information services received through personal interaction than through automated processes based on new technology.”
Jorge Arana, Carmelo Leon, Maria Carballo, and Sergio Gil. 2016. “Designing Tourist Information Offices: The Role of the Human Factor.” Journal of Travel Research, vol. 55, no. 6, pp. 764-773.
Stressful Offices: Ramifications (06-16-26)
Grzywacz’s research confirms the negative repercussions of stressors in workplaces. He found that cognitive function and memory are degraded in offices with more physical hazards. Environmental hazards/stressors were broadly defined and studied using two sets of measures: “The first set of items assessed the frequency of exposure to hazardous conditions, the likelihood of injury as well as the degree of injury resulting from the exposure, if an injury occurred. . . . The second set of items assessed exposure to environmental conditions. The list of environmental conditions included exposure to uncomfortable or distracting levels of sounds or noises; very hot or cold temperatures; extremely bright or inadequate lighting; exposure to contaminants; cramped workspace; and exposure to whole body vibrations.”
Joseph Grzywacz, Dikla Segal-Karpas, and Margie Lachman. 2016. “Workplace Exposures and Cognitive Function During Adulthood: Evidence from National Survey of Midlife Development and the O*NET.” Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, vol. 58, no. 6, pp. 535-541.