In Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky the main character complains at one point that the low ceiling in his apartment is constricting his thoughts. So Dostoyevsky had this notion right quite a while ago.<p>(Then again, the main character had also recently murdered an old lady, so the main problem is not in the apartment.)
> Ceiling Height Can Affect How A Person Thinks, Feels And Acts<p>It certainly can. I've hit my head on several low ceilings. Causes spontaneous verbalisation and a tendency to duck a lot.<p>More seriously, does it have a different effect on tall-vs-short people? Is it ceiling height-above-floor or height-above-head?
I wonder if this has to do with peripheral vision, because there's less feeling of a ceiling above you when the roof is higher because you see less of it. I wonder if there's a difference between sitting on the floor and sitting on a chair and how it affects a persons cognitive activities.
Where's the science here? The linked article talks about research, but doesn't actual describe any <i>results</i>. Instead we get stuff like:<p><i>The research demonstrates that variations in ceiling height can evoke concepts that, in turn, affect how consumers process information.</i><p>What on earth does that mean? How in the hell would you quantify the evocation of a concept? Look, either there is an experiment here or there isn't. This article uses the vocabulary of science to say, basically, that high ceilings are really pretty. Well, duh.
I wonder whether the researchers took into account how the sound in the space bounces around. A higher ceiling often means more bounce. Me, I lose all concentration where treble sounds are bouncing.
What does working in a small gray cube do for your mind?<p>Oh wait we know, Peopleware was published what 20+ years ago.<p>And yet, despite that, and despite Joel's magical office, we won't see cubicles go away any time soon
When I moved to my current apartment I went from 8' to 10' ceilings and I noticed an improvement like that. My office building has ~25' ceilings and I've always felt I think better there than at most other places. It has an excellent natural light system that helps a lot too.
It would be interesting to know if churches were designed with ginormous ceilings primarily for this reason, or rather to be designated as the center point of a town. I have definitely noticed a much different style of thought every time I have to spend a few hours in one.
For some reason, I'm reminded of the scenes from 'Being John Malkovich' in the company office 'fun-house'. Was it intentional?<p><a href="http://thepilver.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/2cx6luf.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://thepilver.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/2cx6luf.jpg</a>