Ceiling Height May Affect Problem-Solving Skills

An anonymous reader writes to mention that a recent University of Minnesota study suggests that ceiling height may affect problem-solving skills. "'When people are in a room with a high ceiling, they activate the idea of freedom. In a low-ceilinged room, they activate more constrained, confined concepts.' Either can be good. The concept of freedom promotes information processing that encourages greater variation in the kinds of thoughts one has, said Meyers-Levy, professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota. The concept of confinement promotes more detail-oriented processing."

Glass Ceilings

[TheCouchPotatoFamine]

Obviously, they're doing it wrong.

Just work outside

[EmbeddedJanitor]

Telecommuting from the lawn chair is why wifi was invented.

Re:

[TheRaven64]

That was my thought as well. If I need to think about a difficult problem, I go for a stroll around the park. The 'ceiling' is infinitely high there...

Re:Just work outside

[simm1701]

Yes..

Until you start to sky dive

No I'm not being sarcastic I'm serious.

After sky diving regularly (to the point of being licensed and in control of yourself in the air) you start to look at the sky differently. It ceases to be just something that is there, instead its a medium that is yours, you can move with it in, you feel as though you have an extra degree of freedom - its changes your perspective.

I'm told many pilots and other aerial sports people feel the same way - ditto for divers and the water.

Re:Glass Ceilings

[ThePromenader]

"Ceiling Height May Affects Problem-Solving Skills"

Whoever wrote that headline must have a low ceiling.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Ahh, yes. In fact, in large doses, approx. 400 micrograms and higher, you may find yourself solving many problems. Not the least of which would be "How the hell do I get out of this chair?"

May affects?

[patternmatch]

It may affects grammar skills too.

on the other hand..

[dotpavan]

be careful not to have too high ceilings, as you might be thinking out-of-the box and returning back might be a problem (or tiresome?)

Re:May affects?

[maxwell demon]

Where is the problem? The ceiling height May (obviously not every May is a ceiling height May; I wonder what's special about those, and if May 2007 is one) affects problem-solving skills (i.e. whenever we have a ceiling height May, the problem-solving skills are either increased or reduced significantly).

Given the amount of spelling errors on Slashdot lately, I guess May 2007 is a ceiling height may, and it actually reduces at least the skill of solving the problem "is this spelled correctly?"

Re:

[enjerth]

Two grammatical mistakes in three posts from ScuttleMonkey seems to indicate the need for a little more proofreading... ...or a higher ceiling.

The article suggests a higher ceiling may inspire free thought, while a lower ceiling may promote attention to detail. So he needs a lower ceiling.

Perfect

[ls -la]

I blame the extra-short ceiling on my floor for less-than-perfect grades freshman year!

Re:Perfect

[orangesquid]

What about outdoors versus indoors?

Ancient greek philosophers wandered around outside a lot, so the stories go. I'm curious about where lawmakers did their work, traditionally; probably inside buildings, but how high were the ceilings?
I checked the latest revision of wikipedia's page on Ancient Greek law [wikipedia.org] (as of the time of posting this comment) to see if there were any pictures of ancient Greek law buildings, but, there were only references to "Ancient Greek poop" and "Roman crap." This could be symbolically indicative of legislatures in low-ceiling buildings, but I suspect it's just random vandalism...

What About Tall People?

[Chagatai]

I'm nearly 7 feet tall, so how does this affect my ideas? Can I call in a "ceiling bias" at work when a short coworker comes up with a great, broad idea and I tend to develop something more constrained and compact? How about when I run into a doorjamb? How does that affect my ideas?

Re:What About Tall People?

[TeknoHog]

I'm nearly 7 feet tall, so how does this affect my ideas? Can I call in a "ceiling bias" at work

On the other hand, didn't Newton say something around the lines of "If I have been able to see further, it is because I have been surrounded by midgets"?

Re:

[mcpkaaos]

How about when I run into a doorjamb? How does that affect my ideas?

Depending on how fast you are running, your entire idea might stay in the room you just left. Wait, my bad, that would be your head. Eh, same difference.

fascinating

[spykemail]

Fascinating, companies that do creative work should take note and think about high ceilings for creative office spaces in the future. On the other hand, looks like the detail oriented rank and file will always be stuck in Dilbert Land.

Re:

[ResidntGeek]

Why the hell would you just dismiss a conclusion automatically for no reason at all? Empirical observation says, in all likelihood, your workspace does limit your creativity in some way. It's not like the study participants were deliberately choosing to be more detail-oriented when the ceiling was short.

Re:

[Maxo-Texas]

Duh!

Obviously, He dismisses it because he works in an office with 7' cielings.

Re:

[PitaBred]

But it does give you a damn good idea of where to start looking. Correlation doesn't PROVE causation, but it sure as hell implies it.

Re:fascinating

[Puff of Logic]

Correlation doesn't PROVE causation,

I see that maxim quoted a lot these days. I see the point it's making, of course; but I can't help wondering: what does prove causation, then?

If a phenomenon is observed only when something is present but never when it is not, a causal relationship can reasonably be construed. The other point is, at least in science, nothing is ever proven!

Re:

[CastrTroy]

Even if your work environment required that you work upside down? I don't even think the effects would be something that most people would notice. More of a subconscious effect.

Re:

[topherhenk]

How's about we put you in a 1m x 1m x 1m box and see how your creativity changes.

Hey, you can't use my office for this study.

Interesting Thought

[MyLongNickName]

Wealthier individuals with the larger home... does the environment itself produce children who are less restricted in their thinking?

Re:

[RiskyChris]

Wealth likely has a larger, more dominating influence on a growing individual than the height of any given room.

Re:Interesting Thought

[tedgyz]

Wealthier individuals with the larger home... does the environment itself produce children who are less restricted in their thinking?

Ummm... Paris Hilton? She's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.

Re:Interesting Thought

[MyLongNickName]

Amazing how folks' minds go to Paris. I would argue her thinking is not restricted at all. This does not translate into "intelligent".

Re:

[tedgyz]

Amazing how folks' minds go to Paris. I would argue her thinking is not restricted at all. This does not translate into "intelligent".

Good point. I guess I was looking at it from the angle of free thinking put to good use or to bad use. Being a celebutard isn't very useful to society, except for being the poster child of the rich and stupid.

Re:

[Jherek Carnelian]

Amazing how folks' minds go to Paris. I would argue her thinking is not restricted at all. This does not translate into "intelligent".

Yet she is incredibly successful. Her goal is to be famous, nothing more than that. There are plenty of extremely wealthy people who would like to be famous but haven't achieved the level of fame she has (bet you can't even name one such person, see?) Yet here we are talking about her on website which wouldn't normally even acknowledge her existence.

Certainly this latest bruhaha with her arrest/sentencing is giving her fame beyond anything that money can normally buy. Can we even be sure that it wasn't

Re:

[nschubach]

Paris Hilton's going to jail? I knew there was a reason I stopped watching non-DVR TV.

Re:

[cheater512]

Amazing how folks' minds go to Paris. I would argue her thinking is not restricted at all. This does not translate into "intelligent".

Well when you talk about restricted thinking you actually imply that some thinking occurs.

So Paris Hilton is a very poor example. ;)

Re:

[cowscows]

Just because someone has a giant house doesn't necessarily mean that it's better designed. The "McMansion" system of home building results in high-square footage numbers, but not always higher quality spaces. Adding a third story of 8' high rooms will likely add a lot more to the sale value of a house compared to the construction cost than raising all of the ceiling heights a few feet.

Re:Interesting Thought

[inviolet]

Wealthier individuals with the larger home... does the environment itself produce children who are less restricted in their thinking?

Now think even broader than that. What will the effect be of the grand and unprecedented social experiment, conducted over the past two decades, of raising children almost continuously confined indoors?

The farther back in history you go, the more time everyone spent outdoors, in which there was no ceiling. Perhaps this explains some small part of the modern retreat from independence.

Re:

[jmashaw]

"The concept of confinement promotes more detail-oriented processing." Except that less restricted thinking does not always lead to wealth. Sometimes the people who are the most detail oriented are better prepared to handle the rigors of society. I can't imagine that you would prefer a open-thinking surgeon to one who is going to make sure that every stitch inside and out is perfect.

Re:

[WilliamSChips]

Interestingly, the best surgeons appear to be the ones who played a lot of video games as a child.

Re:

[Radon360]

Keeping in mind that there is a difference between restrictive thinking and the ability to think in the first place.

Perhaps one could say that her self discretion has been less restrictive from such an environment.

Maybe...

[eln]

I can buy the idea that the ceiling tends to stifle my creativity, but I think the chain attaching me to my desk and the guy who comes around every 15 minutes with the whip probably don't help either. And if all that weren't bad enough, they haven't changed the variety of snacks in the snack machine in like 3 years. There has to be something in the Geneva Conventions about that.

Re:

[Dr. Eggman]

Whether the variety of snacks has changed in the last 3 years is not my concern, but rather if the snacks themselves have changed in the last 3 years. You've never had old chewing gum until you've cut your gums on a stick shard.

Of course, we certainly know the working evironment can be too opulent as well. I'm looking at you, Ion Storm [gamespy.com]

Re:

[Brigadier]

snack !!! you have snacks ?!?!? and a chair!?!?!

Re:

[Yvan256]

Your computer has internet access?

Re:

[Brigadier]

yea, but only when I pedal extra hard and hold these rabbit ears at 45 degrees above my head, while whistling binaries tones into this set of tin can and strings.

Re:

[nschubach]

At least they didn't take away your pedals too. :(

Ceiling Height May Affects Grammar Skills

[hexed_2050]

I think you made a mistake in the title.

From the title "Ceiling Height May Affects Problem-Solving Skills"

Should be "Ceiling Height May Affects Grammar Skills"

h

nice to hear some confirmation

[192939495969798999]

i always felt less constrained mentally in a high-ceiling space. It's nice to see that there might be a biological or scientific explanation besides, "surely you must be joking, Dr. 192939495969798999!"

Science

[pete-classic]

"professor of marketing"

Is marketing a Science now?

-Peter

Re:

[Bearhouse]

Slow down, Pete... from /.'s favourite source:

'The meaning of the word professor (Latin: "one who claims publicly to be an expert") varies. In most English-speaking countries, it refers to a senior academic who holds a departmental chair, generally as head of the department, or a personal chair awarded specifically to that individual.' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor [wikipedia.org]

I've worked with some top-level marketing guys. Can't comment on the 'pure marketing' stuff, but I'm not too shabby at applied statist

Re:

[iapetus]

He's saying that it may be the problem-solving skills that are making the ceiling higher.

Probably.

On a more serious note

[ls -la]

From TFA:

In one test subjects were more critical of a product's design flaws when evaluation took place in a shorter room. This result could have important implications for retailers.

I wonder how many stores are going to see this and move to a larger, more spacious facility like most Barnes and Noble and Best Buy stores I see. Personally

Re:

[ls -la]

Oops, wrong button...

Personally, I wouldn't mind a more spacious store. They should do a study that shows people prefer aisles wide enough to walk through.

Re:On a more serious note

[0rionx]

1. Write up an interesting comment
2. "Accidentally" cut it into two separate posts
3. ???
4. Karma!

Finally!

[Penguinisto]

...I can now justify my smoke breaks as "more creative thinking" time! Sweet! (no ceiling out back where I pollute my lungs... :) )

/P

Re:

[sjwest]

I'm tall, and love to stretch - so im leaving the employment of the seven dwarfs..... ok snow white is cute but those bloody songs

Ah, modern psychology research

[idontgno]

I wasn't aware that cognitive psychology was a branch of marketing.

That's like saying that automotive engineering is an offshoot of ricer tuning. (To coin a car analogy)

TPS reports

[Dachannien]

Umm, we just read a report that ceiling height affects detail-oriented thinking. Mmmkay? So, I'm gonna have to ask you to mount this sheet of plywood across the top of your cubicle. If you could just take care of that, that'd be really great.

That's why...

[vga_init]

God made us a high ceiling (the atmosphere)
He wants us to be free

lol

Hmmm

[KKlaus]

Interesting, and not altogether surprising when you think about it, but I suspect the researchers are being a little to narrow minded about this (maybe they need higher ceilings). I think it's pretty reasonable to suspect (although I obviously don't have the data to prove it) that a wide variety of environments influence human thinking in non-subtle ways. I can imagine people being more or less optimistic depending on how white (color, not race just to head that one off...) their surroundings are, or more ecofriendly depending on how urban their surroundings are. I can at least speak from personal experience that I find myself less likely to speak my mind when I am in rooms where the walls are nearly all glass, where perhaps the underlying mechanism is one of being overly watched or scrutinized. Either way, I always appreciate studies that show a link between quality of work environment and quality of performance (which is what this essentially is). Here's to the death of stuffy and suffocating rooms!

I'd normally come up with a witty comment

[CaptainPatent]

But the ceiling is closing in on me!!!

Next step

[RyoShin]

So what happens if we just remove the ceiling?

Re:Next step

[the phantom]

You get wet when it rains.

Re:

[argent]

So what happens if we just remove the ceiling?

Your computer gets stolen and your paperwork gets wet.

Re:

[symbolset]

Unlimited upside potential, with no change in downside. A no-brainer.

Re:

[Yvan256]

Rain and snow gets in and fry your computer. Then you're back to pen and paper, where there's no GUI and swapping to slow you down.

Creativity wins!

Ok but...

[bhmit1]

...if they move my desk again I'm going to burn the building down.

Height of Ceiling VS Height of Worker?

[HappyHead]

The next question is - since ceiling height really is relative to how tall the person in the room is, (a 6.5 foot high ceiling would brush some people's heads and feel cramped, while others I know in the industry would not be able to reach it while standing on their desks and jumping.) does this mean that very short people are generally more prone to activating the idea of "freedom", while ludicrously tall people are more prone to thinking in constrained, confined concepts, when both are placed in an identical office environment?

Re:

[stecoop]

I thought the reverse direction. Tall people require taller ceilings; therfore, the tasks that taller people have are more unconfined and less constraining.

Re:

[nbert]

I'd say that small people just get used to having more space above (just like they are used to looking up when they speak to someone of average height). They will perceive a low ceiling exactly like a really tall person.

A personal side note: I had the luxury of growing up in an apartment with 3 meter ceilings (~10 foot). It's nothing special - just an older building in Europe. However, growing up under such conditions, I find it quite hard to accept any place where someone of average height can touch the ce

Re:

[cowscows]

I think there are very few people who would not find a 6.5 foot high ceiling to be uncomfortable.

I'm also curious as to what industry you work in, where people would not be able to jump off their desk and reach that ceiling. The average desk height is around 30" which leaves four feet to a 6.5 foot high ceiling.

It's true for me, at least.

[Control Group]

This, while news to me, doesn't actually surprise me at all.

I've encountered this effect personally - working on cars, the thought and problem-solving processes I go through when lying on the driveway under the car are notably different than those when I shimmy out and stand up next to it. Case in point: the starter/solenoid assembly on a 1977 Caprice is practically a topological brain teaser if you're trying to put it in or take it out without removing significant sections of the frame. There's literally one correct ordered set of rotations and translations that must be performed to do so.

Standing next to the car with the starter, I had an incredibly hard time solving this problem. Once under the car, however, it was a matter of a few minutes before I could "see" the solution. Before everyone points out the obvious, no, it wasn't a matter of being able to literally see the solution; given the available vantage point due to the right front tire, the jack, and a frame member, you really couldn't see any more of the problem than the first opening.

That's the most specific example I've got, but a similar thing has happened to me multiple times. At this point, I spend most of my planning time under the car with rust falling in my eyes, because I think better that way.

Re:

[Dachannien]

That could always just be increased blood flow to the brain due to your reclined position, or even specifically to the occipital lobe (i.e., the back of your brain).

Re:

[Control Group]

It absolutely could be. I don't mean to hold this up as any kind of evidence; there's a dearth of controls and a surfeit of variables, I know.

It just lines up well with what the study is concluding, and, for me, lends credence to those conclusions.

Re:

[w.p.richardson]

there's a dearth of controls and a surfeit of variables

well, you are the control group.

Re:

[Control Group]

I probably should have seen that one coming.

Re:

[cowscows]

Did the correct process require you to be under the car in order to install the part? Perhaps going through the motions in your mind became easier when you were physically oriented in the same position that you'd be using to accomplish the task?

I spend a good amount of time taking old floor plan drawings to buildings and verifying dimensions and such. As soon as I enter the building, my first action is usually to orient the plans correctly to the actual building, and plot the path I'm going to take. Even th

Nonsense

[Stevecrox]

Lots of my idea's are considered "out of the box" thinking and they generally happen where ever I may be. I'll admit that many people dislike low ceiling rooms, I know a converted building has recently been turned back to its original use because it was a horrible place to learn (because of low ceilings and small class room sizes) but I wouldn't say its because of idea's about freedom. When people don't feel enclosed they tend to be happier, happy people tend to be more creative and productive. But theres f

I would trot out the Soviet Russia joke

[suitepotato]

but it seems that everywhere, the ceiling makes you.

Activating idea of freedom as a negative...

[KokorHekkus]

...kind of. :)

I went to a school that was built in the early 1800s and had some really high ceilings on the top floor... about 15 feet high. The doors were made of massive wood and 8 feet high. This prompted some creativity in the students and there was a teacher that was usually a bit late so they unhinged the inwards opening door, put it back so that it was just held by the handle lock. Teacher enters and door falls down with a really really major bang as it went down. Teaching staff was not amused by students apparent creativty.

Einstein

[iplayfast]

Interesting, in that Einstein liked to go for long walks under the open sky.

From the headline. When people are in a room with a high ceiling, they activate the idea of freedom and The concept of freedom promotes information processing that encourages greater variation in the kinds of thoughts one has, said Meyers-Levy...

Superfriends

[vjmurphy]

"When people are in a room with a high ceiling, they activate the idea of freedom."

"Wonder Twin powers activate!"
"Shape of an idea of freedom!"
"Form of an ice-- wait, what? Can Gleek carry that in a bucket?"

Good thing my office has a sloping roof

[corsec67]

Depending on where I look, my office either has a really, really short roof, or a fairly tall roof. Do I get the best of both worlds?

(Yeah, it is a home office)

General Observations

[RockoTDF]

As a psychology student/researcher, I must say our worst enemy is the media. The way these stories are reported sometimes distorts the research or the conclusions drawn from it. If you were to read the actual journal article when it is published, it will likely be far less B.S. like "activating inner creativity" and more like "participants in the higher ceiling room demonstrated more creativity as measured by (variable)." Although the article may have used BS terms since its a marketing journal and not a proper psych journal. The publication standards in education, communication, and marketing journals are generally less demanding and so sometimes crap gets through and makes all scientific research outside of bio/chem/physics look bad. Also, since correlation does not imply causation it is possible that as previously mentioned certain jobs will intentionally create different environments for whatever reason...ie graphic designers may care more about an open aesthetically pleasing office than engineers who sit in cubicles and just want to do their work. In addition this article fails to give any actual statistics, which limits how much we can critique it...so if it has a correlation of .9 there is probably a good connection between ceiling height and creativity, but if its only .3 it could just be coincidental or due to many outside factors.

Medieval Europe

[vertinox]

If this was the case, wouldn't more free thinking going on in the giant cathedrals of the time?

Re:

[aristotle-dude]

If this was the case, wouldn't more free thinking going on in the giant cathedrals of the time?

So you are saying that you are not a boring closed minded bigot parroting tired rhetoric?

The Problem WIth Low Ceilings

[Hoi Polloi]

Low ceilings interfere with my tinfoil hat thus allowing the CIA satellites to harrass me.

Glass

[hansamurai]

Makes me wish I was a woman and could work under that limitless glass ceiling they're always talking about!

Thinking outside the box!

[thewiz]

Great... now our managers will put us back a cube/office/cage.

I expected the reverse.

[jpellino]

Put people in a room with a 2-ft ceiling, they're going to get damned resourceful, and fast.

Ceiling Height Variety

[bmajik]

More people discovering what Christopher Alexander discovered, and what thousands of years of humans knew before he re-discovered it.

Pattern #190: Ceiling Height Variety

http://www.ahartman.com/apl/patterns/apl190.htm [ahartman.com]

Wow? so what's next?

[kinglink]

People think better in non-cramped spaces? Cubicles should go? Beer at company meetings improves morale? (The last is from my current employer, it does).

Outside!

[Bert64]

Well, if high ceilings improve creativity... why not make creative people work outside?

another proposed test

[jafac]

If this is largely based on visual cues (and I'm going to assume that's the case, here; don't know how it could be otherwise) - then it should be a fairly simple task to take an FPS-type video game, modify the maps into two or three experimental configurations, one with high ceilings, the other with low ceilings (assuming that the ceiling height does not impact game mechanics) - and then have three groups of individuals play the games. See which group performs "better".

Send 100 people out to do some statistical...

[exp(pi*sqrt(163))]

...testing and 1% will find results that are 99% significant just by chance. Here's that 1% folks.

Etymology?

[martyb]

So, a "bright idea", gives an additional meaning to the phrase: "The sky's the limit!" :^)

Alternate conclusion

[PPH]

Did they consider whether, for a fixed ceiling height, shorter people exhibited less constrained thinking?

Re:

[Lockejaw]

I'm not sure about creativity, but I'd say having a larger (or second) monitor definitely improves productivity.

Re:

[servognome]

So accountants and programmers and all dreg office workers should really be crammed into little hobbit house cubes? I'm already shoved into a windowless cave, now I lose my headroom too?

There's a difference between understanding one aspect of human behavior and being able to modify human behavior the way you want.
A tiny cubicle may inspire more detail oriented thinking, but may have the consequence of lowering productivity because of other psychological effects.

Re:

[MORB]

That's assuming a good programmer is one focusing on the details instead of the big picture.
Both are probably useful, but it seems that there is an excess of the detail oriented ones, at least where I work, and as a result our codebase has no discernable overall architecture.
It looks more like fungus, growing erratically in every direction. It's unstable, bloated and runs like shit too.

Re:

[Jaeph]

Personally, I prefer being in a tight space when I read or code. I like taking a walk when I do design work. So I guess I fit the article.

Anyways, it may (- see that, "may") be a good idea to give computer people a tighter workspace, and compensate by having a larger open area where they can relax and think big.

-Jeff

Re:

[PitaBred]

Naah, being in an office with co-workers is what causes the behavioral/affective disorders. It's not the fluorescent lights.

Re:

[PitaBred]

You must be in a room with short ceilings, otherwise your comment would have been more creative ;)

Re:

[Stevecrox]

no, the OP must have a really low ceiling, thats a 'closed minded' view not open to the idea of 'freedom'

Re:

[kalirion]

I wonder if the affect of ceiling height is because of claustrophobia as well. Would ideas thought of in a very tall closed be any better than ideas in a large room with a low ceiling?