Room Size Affects You More Than You Think

Created By RISC | 1 year ago

Last modified date : 1 year ago

Ever feel uncomfortable, sad, or tired in a small space? ​

Many people prefer a large, open, and breezy home rather than a limited space. The size of our surroundings, in fact, affects our mood and even moral judgment.​

Research shows us just how. ​

"Spacious Environments Make Us Tolerant—The Role of Emotion and Metaphor" by South China Normal University in China in 2021 showed a selection of images of indoor and outdoor places to 370 respondents. They described large spaces positively, as clear, relaxed, free, comfortable. Narrow spaces were seen as narrow, dark, depressing, oppressed. The bigger, in other words, the better.

The size of spaces also affects moral judgments. A questionnaire with 5 moral issues (eating a pet dog, taking a bribe, cheating in a test, faking a resume, and keeping a lost wallet) found that large spaces, particularly in bright areas, foster generosity and tolerance for bad behavior, resulting in milder judgment. Being in a small room with a dark environment generates not only discomfort but harsher moral attitudes.​

Large or small environments alter our emotions and perceptions. This research can be applied to a variety of situations. Aside from size, however, human emotions also hinge on light, shape, and color.​

Story by Chirapa Horbanluekit, Communication Researcher, RISC​

Reference:​
Wu, C.; Liang, F.; Liang, X.; Huang, C.; Wang, H.; He, X.; Zhang, W.; Rojas, D.; Duan, Y. Spacious Environments Make Us Tolerant—The Role of Emotion and Metaphor. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 10530. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910530​