CHOICE, PERCEIVED CONTROL, AND PERFORMANCE DECREMENTS IN THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

Abstract Psychologists and environmental designers have asserted that the provision of choices in the physical environment will lead to desirable outcomes for employees, such as better performance and improved mood. This assertion, applied to workstation lighting, was tested using a 2×2 Choice (over lighting)×Preference (for lighting) factorial design with an additional no-treatment comparison group. Male and female undergraduates participated in 2-h sessions during which they completed mood and perceived control scales and several intellectual and creativity tasks. As expected, subjects in the choice and preference-given conditions reported more perceived control than those under no-choice and preference-denied conditions. However, contrary to conventional wisdom, subjects given choice performed more poorly and more slowly than subjects not given choice, at least on the creativity task.