Bright Light Intensifies Emotions, Which May Affect Decision Making

Amy Taylor February 24, 2014

Got an important decision to make? It may be helpful to dim the lights first. That’s because human emotions, negative or positive, are felt more intensely under bright light, according to a new study.

Researchers from the University of Toronto Scarborough and Rotman School of Management conducted a series of studies to examine the relationship between lighting and human emotion. They asked participants to rate a wide range of things — from the spiciness of chicken-wing sauce, the aggressiveness of a fictional character, how attractive someone was, their feelings about specific words, and the taste of two juices — under different lighting conditions.

They found that under bright light, emotions are felt more intensely.

For instance, in the brighter room, participants wanted spicier chicken wing sauce, thought the fictional character was more aggressive, found the women more attractive, felt better about positive words and worse about negative words, and drank more of the “favourable” juice and less of the “unfavourable” juice.

Perception of heat triggers emotions

The researchers theorise that that the effect bright light has on human emotions may be the result of it being perceived as heat — and the perception of heat can trigger our emotions. “Bright light intensifies the initial emotional reaction we have to different kinds of stimulus, including products and people,” said Jing Xu, an assistant professor of management at UTSC and the Rotman School of Management, and the lead author of the study.

“Since a majority of our decisions are made under bright light, it may be that turning down the light can help you make more rational decisions or even settle negotiations more easily,” she said.

“Marketers may also adjust the lightening levels in the retail environment, according to the nature of the products on sale,” she said. “If you are selling emotional expressive products such as flowers or engagement rings it would make sense to make the store as bright as possible.”

Their findings were published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.

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Got an Important Decision to Make? Dim the Lights