REVISITING THE PERFORMANCE AND MOOD EFFECTS OF INFORMATION ABOUT LIGHTING AND FLUORESCENT LAMP TYPE

Abstract Popular articles and manufacturers' literature assert that full-spectrum fluorescent lighting improves cognitive performance, vision, and mood. Previous experimental investigations have failed to demonstrate these effects. This paper reports an attempt to replicate earlier work concerning the effects of information sets about lighting on performance and mood. In this 2 (lamp type) × 4 (information sets) × 2 (gender) factorial experiment, 104 male and 104 female participants were led to expect good, poor or indifferent outcomes of working under full-spectrum or cool-white fluorescent lighting, or they were not given any information. There were no effects of lamp type or information set on performance or mood. The results are discussed in relation to other evidence that cognitive processes mediate lighting–behaviour relationships.

[1]  R. Katzev.  The Impact of Energy-Efficient Office Lighting Strategies on Employee Satisfaction and Productivity , 1992 .

[2]  Paul M. Biner,et al.  Effects of Lighting-Induced Arousal on the Magnitude of Goal Valence , 1991 .

[3]  Howard B. Lee,et al.  Foundations of Behavioral Research , 1973 .

[4]  R. Gifford,et al.  Scientific Evidence for Claims about Full-Spectrum Lamps: Past and Future , 1994 .

[5]  A Hedge,et al.  Effects of lensed-indirect and parabolic lighting on the satisfaction, visual health, and productivity of office workers. , 1995, Ergonomics.

[6]  A Wilkins,et al.  Intermittent Illumination from Visual Display Units and Fluorescent Lighting Affects Movements of the Eyes Across Text , 1986, Human factors.

[7]  F. J. Roethlisberger,et al.  Management and the Worker , 1941 .

[8]  J. Brehm.  A theory of psychological reactance. , 1981 .

[9]  Jacob Cohen.  Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences , 1969, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Research Design.

[10]  Darrell L. Butler,et al.  An Arousal Optimization Model of Lighting Level Preferences , 1989 .

[11]  P. Lachenbruch.  Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.) , 1989 .

[12]  J. Russell,et al.  Evidence for a three-factor theory of emotions , 1977 .

[13]  J. Veitch,et al.  Modulation of fluorescent light: Flicker rate and light source effects on visual performance and visual comfort , 1995 .

[14]  Ronald N. Helms,et al.  Lighting for energy-efficient luminous environments , 1991 .

[15]  R. Gifford,et al.  Assessing Beliefs about Lighting Effects on Health, Performance, Mood, and Social Behavior , 1996 .

[16]  Robert Gifford,et al.  Effects of warm white, cool white and full-spectrum fluorescent lighting on simple cognitive performance, mood and ratings of others , 1989 .

[17]  Robert Bartholomew.  Lighting in the classroom , 1975 .

[18]  Jennifer A. Veitch,et al.  Demand characteristics and full spectrum lighting effects on performance and mood , 1991 .

[19]  Arnold J. Wilkins,et al.  Fluorescent lighting, headaches and eyestrain , 1989 .

[20]  R. Baron,et al.  Effects of indoor lighting (illuminance and spectral distribution) on the performance of cognitive tasks and interpersonal behaviors: The potential mediating role of positive affect , 1992 .

[21]  I. Knez.  Effects of indoor lighting on mood and cognition , 1995 .

[22]  J. Veitch,et al.  Full-Spectrum Fluorescent Lighting Effects on People: A Critical Review , 1998 .

[23]  Mark S. Rea,et al.  A Field Evaluation of Full-Spectrum, Polarized Lighting , 1994 .