Innovation Sciences - HTI Designtrack B.

Hungry for Light

Light preferences as function of vitality
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion and conclusion
References
/ Human Technology Interaction - Faculty of Innovation Sciences
R.P. Wesselink | A.W. Jansen | G.A.H. Lenselink | O.F. Garcia Guerrero | A. Mahendru | E.S. Beursken
Research has shown that bright light has several benefcial efects on people, for in-
stance Smolders et al (2012) showed that bright light (i.e. 1000 lux) improves the sub-
jective feelings of alertness and vitality, increases physiological arousal and improves
objective performance of participants.
However, do people act upon those benefts? In this experiment, the main research
question explored whether people prefer higher illuminance levels under diferent
conditions of mental depletion during daytime. Expectations are that mentally de-
pleted people will prefer higher illuminance levels, while relaxed people would
prefer lower illuminance levels.
The experiment consisted of two dierent manipulation conditions.
One mental depletion condition with a Multi Attribute Task Battery (MATB) and a
modifed Stroop task and one condition with a movie clip about nature and
reading magazines of their preference.
Three parameters: light preference, objective performance and subjective vitality.
Light preference was obtained when participants set their preferred illuminance
level.
Objective performance was obtained by a Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT).
Subjective vitality was measured with a questionnaire, based on the activation-
deactivation checklist (Thayer 1989).
[1] Smolders, K.C.H.J. & de Kort, Y.A.W. (2012a). Bright light efects on mental fatigue. Unpublished manuscript.
[2] Thayer, R. E. (1989). The Biopsychology of Mood and Arousal. New York: Oxford University Press; 1989.
Light preference of mentally depleted participants expecting a performance
task was signifcantly higher in brightness level compared to relaxed
participants.
PVT reaction times of the participants after depletion manipulation was
signifcantly slower compared to the relaxed participants.
Participants reported signifcantly lower vitality levels after depletion
manipulation, while vitality after relaxation showed no signifcant diference.
The main results of the current study suggest that the level of mental depletion af-
fects the preferred brightness level of light; when people are mentally depleted they
prefer higher brightness levels compared to when they are less mentally depleted.
Furthermore, people seem to prefer lower brightness levels when expecting a relax-
ing task compared to a performance task, which shows that context also has an
efect on light preferences. However, it should be noted that the experiment was not
designed to determine the efect of context on preference of light.
Supervisors: Smolders, K.C.H.J & Kort, Y.A.W. de
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Error Bars: 95%CI
Relaxation task Performance task Task type:
Condition
Relaxation Depletion
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Error Bars: 95%CI
Condition: Relaxation Depletion
Second PVT Baseline PVT
Task type Measurements over time
After light setting After manipulation Before manipulation
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Error Bars: 95%CI
Condition: Relaxation Depletion
Figure 1: An overview of the phases of the experiment and corresponding light settings during the experiment.
Introduction Measurement Relaxation Meas. Measurements Measurements
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Experiment level 200 lux Performance light level Relaxation light level
Depletion
5 5.5 24 2 1 4 1 5.5 Time (min) = 48 min
Depletion Condition
Subjective Vitality
PVT Reaction Time (msec)
Relaxation Condition
Subjective Vitality
PVT Reaction Time (msec)
Before manipulation After manipulation After light setting
Mean (SE) Mean (SE) Mean (SE)
Mean (SE) Mean (SE) Mean (SE)
3.61 (0.10)
314,75 (6.80)
2.93 (0.13)
321,24 (9.10)
3.26 (0.14)
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3.58 (0.15)
313,10 (5.40)
3.46 (0.13)
301,48 (5.50)
3.51 (0.12)
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