Overhead lighting vs lamps
August 26, 2017 3:27 AM Subscribe
Are there differences in personality between those who prefer lamps vs overhead lighting?
Generally everyone seems to have a preference when it comes to lighting at home, in that they either predominately use overhead lighting or they use various kinds of lamps (table/floor etc.), and usually can't stand the alternative. With a few exceptions, i.e. the bathroom or romance, most people seem to stick to their preference.
Based on my own anecdotal observations, it seems to me that there is a difference in personality between these people, with those preferring overhead lighting to be the more outgoing and upbeat type, and with those preferring lamp light to be the more quiet and introspective type although this is certainly a generalisation. Generally people more into home furnishings and decorating etc. also seem to prefer lamps, but this is kind of understandable. I'm also aware preferences vary between countries.
Are there any studies anywhere observing differences in personality between these two groups? Does anyone have any observations of their own? All I can find are studies relating to the effect on mood of various different types of lighting in office settings which is not really what I'm looking for, especially as this lighting is not chosen by the participants.
Generally everyone seems to have a preference when it comes to lighting at home, in that they either predominately use overhead lighting or they use various kinds of lamps (table/floor etc.), and usually can't stand the alternative. With a few exceptions, i.e. the bathroom or romance, most people seem to stick to their preference.
Based on my own anecdotal observations, it seems to me that there is a difference in personality between these people, with those preferring overhead lighting to be the more outgoing and upbeat type, and with those preferring lamp light to be the more quiet and introspective type although this is certainly a generalisation. Generally people more into home furnishings and decorating etc. also seem to prefer lamps, but this is kind of understandable. I'm also aware preferences vary between countries.
Are there any studies anywhere observing differences in personality between these two groups? Does anyone have any observations of their own? All I can find are studies relating to the effect on mood of various different types of lighting in office settings which is not really what I'm looking for, especially as this lighting is not chosen by the participants.
Hmm. I would self describe as quiet and introspective but would probably be universally described by others as outgoing. I despise overhead or direct lighting.
posted by chasles at 4:49 AM on August 26, 2017
posted by chasles at 4:49 AM on August 26, 2017
I don't think you will find a study comparing the light preferences of personality types because such a study would be based on an unfounded presumption, and current studies indicate that cultural and social issues play a huge role when lighting is chosen. If bright overhead light is a powerful indicator of status, that will overrule your introspection, in some cultures. Judging from decorating magazines, various lamps creating intimate spaces often indicate "old" culture, with books and art and maybe antique furniture. That might correlate with introspection, but it might also correlate with "old" money, or an aspiration towards the arts.
I have a friend who is an expert in light and more focused on the physical and technical aspects, and she has told me the global light research community is quite small, in spite of how huge the light-fixture business is. She also thinks LED will lead to some people changing their preferences over the next few years, because solutions that were costly before are now becoming cheap and very energy efficient. Overhead lighting is/was cheaper and more efficient than different lamps, and maybe appeal to people who value those things. On the other hand, many architects like overhead lighting because there is less clutter, so if someone rich had their home designed by an architect, there might be overhead lighting, but it doesn't say much about anyones temperament.
Within design for healthcare, there is an interest in light as something that can improve healing outcomes, and as I understand it, the consensus is that you want artificial light to mimic natural light, which is light that changes through the day, is sometimes strong and sometimes diffused, sometimes with a strong angle, sometimes from directly above, sometimes from a campfire. Right now hospitals are working with this and developing new fixtures and programming options. Some are already spilling into consumer goods, but my friend predicts this will grow. This means that we will be getting a whole new set of choices and arguments.
For a scholarly take on the social and cultural aspects (and a bit more): An Anthropology of Luminosity - The Agency of Light, by Mikkel Bille and Tim Flohr Sørensen
I have a friend who is an expert in light and more focused on the physical and technical aspects, and she has told me the global light research community is quite small, in spite of how huge the light-fixture business is. She also thinks LED will lead to some people changing their preferences over the next few years, because solutions that were costly before are now becoming cheap and very energy efficient. Overhead lighting is/was cheaper and more efficient than different lamps, and maybe appeal to people who value those things. On the other hand, many architects like overhead lighting because there is less clutter, so if someone rich had their home designed by an architect, there might be overhead lighting, but it doesn't say much about anyones temperament.
Within design for healthcare, there is an interest in light as something that can improve healing outcomes, and as I understand it, the consensus is that you want artificial light to mimic natural light, which is light that changes through the day, is sometimes strong and sometimes diffused, sometimes with a strong angle, sometimes from directly above, sometimes from a campfire. Right now hospitals are working with this and developing new fixtures and programming options. Some are already spilling into consumer goods, but my friend predicts this will grow. This means that we will be getting a whole new set of choices and arguments.
For a scholarly take on the social and cultural aspects (and a bit more): An Anthropology of Luminosity - The Agency of Light, by Mikkel Bille and Tim Flohr Sørensen
This article addresses the relationship between light, material culture and social experiences. It argues that understanding light as a powerful social agent, in its relationship with people, things, colours, shininess and places, may facilitate an appreciation of the active social role of luminosity in the practice of day-to-day activities. The article surveys an array of past conceptions of light within philosophy, natural science and more recent approaches to light in the fields of anthropology and material culture studies. A number of implications are discussed, and by way of three case studies it is argued that light may be used as a tool for exercising social intimacy and inclusion, of shaping moral spaces and hospitality, and orchestrating movement, while working as a metaphor as well as a material agent in these social negotiations. The social comprehension of light is a means of understanding social positions in ways that may be real or imagined, but are bound up on the social and cultural associations of certain lightscapes.posted by mumimor at 5:07 AM on August 26, 2017 [31 favorites]
I don't remember if it talks about this specifically, but there's an out of print book called Home Psych that is about this sort of thing. It's not academically rigorous or anything, but as mumimor points out, it's not a subject that you can be rigorous with, really. It's interesting, though, if you take it with a grain of salt.
If you look at the Amazon suggestions, there seem to be other books on the same topic, too. I just haven't read any other ones.
In my personal experience, though, I hate overhead lighting, and excessive lighting in general, and it's been a point of contention with everyone I've lived with ever, whether they were upbeat or extroverted or not. I think my husband, who has been my main opponent for a while, takes grocery stores as his primary inspiration for decorating and ambience. He's always putting super-bright bulbs in the overhead lights in the house and I'm always running around behind him turning them off and sometimes loosening half the bulbs; and he's pretty much Eeyore. He's pretty decidedly not outgoing or upbeat.
So I'm kind of leaning toward this not being a personality based preference, but a straight up, black and white matter of right vs. wrong.
posted by ernielundquist at 6:21 AM on August 26, 2017 [6 favorites]
If you look at the Amazon suggestions, there seem to be other books on the same topic, too. I just haven't read any other ones.
In my personal experience, though, I hate overhead lighting, and excessive lighting in general, and it's been a point of contention with everyone I've lived with ever, whether they were upbeat or extroverted or not. I think my husband, who has been my main opponent for a while, takes grocery stores as his primary inspiration for decorating and ambience. He's always putting super-bright bulbs in the overhead lights in the house and I'm always running around behind him turning them off and sometimes loosening half the bulbs; and he's pretty much Eeyore. He's pretty decidedly not outgoing or upbeat.
So I'm kind of leaning toward this not being a personality based preference, but a straight up, black and white matter of right vs. wrong.
posted by ernielundquist at 6:21 AM on August 26, 2017 [6 favorites]
I like strong overhead lighting because with it I can actually see things, like the text in my students' papers and things I have dropped on the floor. I am outgoing, but also have poor vision.
posted by pangolin party at 6:25 AM on August 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by pangolin party at 6:25 AM on August 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
I used to strongly prefer lamp lighting, and considered myself quiet and introspective. Then, I started working in an office and spending 60+ hours a week with overhead lighting.
Now, I'm quiet and introspective and used to overhead lighting. My substantially more outgoing husband never wants overhead lights on.
posted by joyceanmachine at 6:36 AM on August 26, 2017
Now, I'm quiet and introspective and used to overhead lighting. My substantially more outgoing husband never wants overhead lights on.
posted by joyceanmachine at 6:36 AM on August 26, 2017
Depends on significant more factors, design of the fixtures and the room, the color temperature of the bulbs, the type of bulbs, time of day, requirement of the activity in any particular room. For example I liked an overhead lamp in my kitchen just fine then decided to use some daylight color temp bulbs and later noticed that unless I was hunting for a dropped needle I never turned on the overhead as it was just too annoying.
posted by sammyo at 6:43 AM on August 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by sammyo at 6:43 AM on August 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
Don't discount people's vision as an influence. I love the look of lamps etc, but can barely see anything in such an environment and it aggravates my husband's depression Thus our house is lit from overhead with very bright white lights. So I can see to read, walk without tripping over dogs and to avoid the migraines that I get from light on my peripheral vision. I am an outgoing introvert.
posted by wwax at 7:18 AM on August 26, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by wwax at 7:18 AM on August 26, 2017 [4 favorites]
Hmm, I am a textbook introvert and I prefer overhead lighting anywhere. I like it when my surrounding is well lit because it makes my feel safe and happy. I guess the choice of lighting is not so much a reflection of my mood/personality, but more about the psychological reasoning of this choice. Basically it is my fear of darkness(=loneliness) that leads me to fill my surrounding with light. So my point is, choosing the type of lighting probably has a lot more to do with the person's inner fear than general personality.
posted by southlanecherry at 7:30 AM on August 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by southlanecherry at 7:30 AM on August 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
Articles on how lighting affects sensory issues often have links to studies.
This one, Sensory Lighting - What Helps and What Doesn't opens with "The way a person views the world is colored by the effects of the light sources in their environment. Natural lighting, fluorescent lighting, lamp/desk lighting, and secondary glare offer different levels of visual stimulation and for some people this can make a huge difference in their perceptions and mood." Now, if you look at personality types in terms of how people behave outwardly, your generalizations might make sense. And, if you look at them in the sense of where do these types draw their energy from, in a way it does too - but is it a preference, or a reaction to conditions?
While I wouldn't say my personality type dictate my lighting preference (I'll call myself an ambivert) - I'd say my sensory issues do. And lighting affects my mood greatly, and so I behave differently depending on the light.
I work in a place where we keep the light dim to protect our collections, and the buzzing of the lights we do use overhead in our work area in the studio is very wearing on me. I also can't stand to go into places with over-illumination. I can hear certain light bulbs, and certain stores are no-gos. The lights that buzz at work mean I tend to do anything to distract myself and drown them out when they're on. While I might appear more animated - I'm actually flailing inside. Whenever there is a power outage at work, or in the world, after the first minute of being startled, I'm immediately happier. The best part of a cottage weekend is being outside with no artificial light.
And that is why I've had dimmer switches installed in my bathroom. I follow my family from room to room and turn off overhead lights. The 25 watt pink incandescent bulbs in my nightstand lights are so precious I go into hardware stores in small towns to hoard them. My personality doesn't determine my light preferences - my peculiarities do.
posted by peagood at 7:34 AM on August 26, 2017
This one, Sensory Lighting - What Helps and What Doesn't opens with "The way a person views the world is colored by the effects of the light sources in their environment. Natural lighting, fluorescent lighting, lamp/desk lighting, and secondary glare offer different levels of visual stimulation and for some people this can make a huge difference in their perceptions and mood." Now, if you look at personality types in terms of how people behave outwardly, your generalizations might make sense. And, if you look at them in the sense of where do these types draw their energy from, in a way it does too - but is it a preference, or a reaction to conditions?
While I wouldn't say my personality type dictate my lighting preference (I'll call myself an ambivert) - I'd say my sensory issues do. And lighting affects my mood greatly, and so I behave differently depending on the light.
I work in a place where we keep the light dim to protect our collections, and the buzzing of the lights we do use overhead in our work area in the studio is very wearing on me. I also can't stand to go into places with over-illumination. I can hear certain light bulbs, and certain stores are no-gos. The lights that buzz at work mean I tend to do anything to distract myself and drown them out when they're on. While I might appear more animated - I'm actually flailing inside. Whenever there is a power outage at work, or in the world, after the first minute of being startled, I'm immediately happier. The best part of a cottage weekend is being outside with no artificial light.
And that is why I've had dimmer switches installed in my bathroom. I follow my family from room to room and turn off overhead lights. The 25 watt pink incandescent bulbs in my nightstand lights are so precious I go into hardware stores in small towns to hoard them. My personality doesn't determine my light preferences - my peculiarities do.
posted by peagood at 7:34 AM on August 26, 2017
I think it says more about how recently your home was built or remodeled, honestly. At least in New England. I used to work for a renovator, and people were almost universally having overhead lighting put in when they redid their houses. In kitchens, it wasn't even a conversation—it was a question of how much overhead lighting do you want and how do you want it laid out, not whether or not you want overhead lighting at all.
So at least in my experience it's more of a design trend than anything. Older houses tend not to have it, newer houses (and newly-renovated ones) almost always do.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 7:50 AM on August 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
So at least in my experience it's more of a design trend than anything. Older houses tend not to have it, newer houses (and newly-renovated ones) almost always do.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 7:50 AM on August 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
Hmmm. I prefer bright light. I'm an introvert, but I also have terrible vision and sensory processing issues. My hunch is that the latter two things are more important than the former.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:51 AM on August 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:51 AM on August 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
I prefer indirect lighting, with strategically placed lamps for reading. I have a physical reaction to strong overhead lights--eyestrain, headaches, general discomfort. Maybe I have a psychological reaction, too. I'm not particularly introverted, and I prefer to avoid crowded rooms, theaters and auditoriums notwithstanding.
posted by mule98J at 10:05 AM on August 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by mule98J at 10:05 AM on August 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
Are we talking about recessed lights in ceilings or tubes of fluorescent lights or one central globe fixture? I think the first is tolerable because it is spread out, subtle, and dimmable but the second and third are depressing.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 10:07 AM on August 26, 2017
posted by TWinbrook8 at 10:07 AM on August 26, 2017
I never even questioned overhead lighting until I fell in with a large social circle of creative types. They all HATE overhead lighting. So my experience has been that it has nothing to do with introvert/extrovert, but instead is more about creative vs analytical.
posted by raisingsand at 10:12 AM on August 26, 2017
posted by raisingsand at 10:12 AM on August 26, 2017
I have to say, this certainly isn't how I've ever thought about lighting - I'm pretty introverted, but I generally prefer overhead lighting when I need a lot of light, don't have floor/table space, need even illumination, when it would fit the aesthetics of the room...
I use lamps for task lighting, for atmosphere, when I only need light for a few minutes.
I'd also consider how many people actually change the lighting that their house comes with, especially when it comes to overhead lighting. To me, this sounds like asking for personality differences based on, say, whether you prefer your freezer above or below your fridge.
posted by sagc at 11:16 AM on August 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
I use lamps for task lighting, for atmosphere, when I only need light for a few minutes.
I'd also consider how many people actually change the lighting that their house comes with, especially when it comes to overhead lighting. To me, this sounds like asking for personality differences based on, say, whether you prefer your freezer above or below your fridge.
posted by sagc at 11:16 AM on August 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
I despise overhead lighting, maybe partly because my mother also despises overhead lighting, so I grew up in a house where we only ever turned on the overhead lights if something very small got lost on the floor and we couldn't find it without resorting to the harsh glare of the overheads.
If I think about my workplace, there are a number of us who have brought lamps into our offices rather than using the institutional overhead fluorescents. When I think about which coworkers indiscriminately use their overhead lights versus those who have sought to mitigate the existing lighting in their offices, I find that the people who use the overhead lights are the ones who I otherwise think of as not very creative, not very good problem-solvers, and not very good at either seeing big picture issues OR dealing with nuance and details. So maybe you can take away from that that, in addition to being introverted (which I am), people who hate overhead lighting (like me) are really judgmental?
posted by mudpuppie at 11:41 AM on August 26, 2017 [3 favorites]
If I think about my workplace, there are a number of us who have brought lamps into our offices rather than using the institutional overhead fluorescents. When I think about which coworkers indiscriminately use their overhead lights versus those who have sought to mitigate the existing lighting in their offices, I find that the people who use the overhead lights are the ones who I otherwise think of as not very creative, not very good problem-solvers, and not very good at either seeing big picture issues OR dealing with nuance and details. So maybe you can take away from that that, in addition to being introverted (which I am), people who hate overhead lighting (like me) are really judgmental?
posted by mudpuppie at 11:41 AM on August 26, 2017 [3 favorites]
As a renter, I don't really have the power to / can't be bothered to change up the overhead lights in my apartments, and they're never really bright enough, so I end up putting in lots of lamps. I guess what I am saying is that I don't think I've lived in a place where I have complete free choice over which lights to use. For example, in my current place, the overhead light in the living room isn't nearly bright enough, but the table/floor lamps only light one half of the room, so both are usually on.
posted by quaking fajita at 11:52 AM on August 26, 2017
posted by quaking fajita at 11:52 AM on August 26, 2017
I agree with mudpuppie. I have a lot of uncharitable ideas about people who sit all day under fluorescence. I like overhead light in work spaces where it's actually useful like kitchens and classrooms. I like it when I'm outside and it's the sun or the moon and stars. In a bedroom or an office it's a glarey, headachey, blinding, exhausting curse.
posted by Don Pepino at 11:55 AM on August 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Don Pepino at 11:55 AM on August 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
I get headaches with overhead lighting, and I don't get headaches with properly placed, (so it's not shining directly in my eyes, but shining on where I'm working), table lamps.
posted by Sunnyshe at 12:16 PM on August 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Sunnyshe at 12:16 PM on August 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
I have wondered if wearing glasses has something to do with disliking overhead lighting. I can't stand it, and I think maybe it's to do with glare off my glasses?
posted by wyzewoman at 12:17 PM on August 26, 2017
posted by wyzewoman at 12:17 PM on August 26, 2017
I have major depressive disorder, and my day starts with me turning on every recessed overhead light track in the entire condo (as well as opening all curtains for maximum sun, if the sun is up/out). If I don't do this, I am non-functional. The whole day is a waste.
I love the idea of table and floor lamps - they're pleasing to me (specifically the Arts & Crafts/Mission Prairie/Frank Lloyd Wright school of colored glass shades), and I have a few, but they primarily serve as décor, and not sources of light. I will lie in bed in the dark all day, and be overtaken by ever-increasing anxiety and depression, if my world is not immediately super-bright.
Oddly, I'm an excitable extrovert when I'm not crippled by misery and despair.
No idea if this helps as a set of data points.
posted by tzikeh at 12:47 PM on August 26, 2017 [4 favorites]
I love the idea of table and floor lamps - they're pleasing to me (specifically the Arts & Crafts/Mission Prairie/Frank Lloyd Wright school of colored glass shades), and I have a few, but they primarily serve as décor, and not sources of light. I will lie in bed in the dark all day, and be overtaken by ever-increasing anxiety and depression, if my world is not immediately super-bright.
Oddly, I'm an excitable extrovert when I'm not crippled by misery and despair.
No idea if this helps as a set of data points.
posted by tzikeh at 12:47 PM on August 26, 2017 [4 favorites]
I have zero uncharitable thoughts about you, tzikeh, and have set fire to my uncharitable thoughts about a couple of coworkers whose light baths suddenly make all the sense in the world.
posted by Don Pepino at 1:53 PM on August 26, 2017
posted by Don Pepino at 1:53 PM on August 26, 2017
Glad to have shed a little light on this for you, Don Pepino. 💡
posted by tzikeh at 2:34 PM on August 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by tzikeh at 2:34 PM on August 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm an extrovert who hates overhead lighting and likes lamps (bright is fine, just prefer artificial light to come from below shoulder height).
posted by pseudostrabismus at 2:45 PM on August 26, 2017
posted by pseudostrabismus at 2:45 PM on August 26, 2017
I've always thought there was a connection between personality and light preference! I once had a really outgoing roommate who would leave all the overhead lights on, and I'd go through the house turning them all off (I'm an introvert). Maybe it comes down more to sensitivity in general, like bright lights or loud sounds affect me, while others may not even notice.
posted by sucre at 6:48 PM on August 26, 2017
posted by sucre at 6:48 PM on August 26, 2017
I think the real difference is people who notice and care about light in a room (lamp people have to go buy lamps and think about where to put them) and people who don't care much and just turn on a switch.
I could see introverts caring more.
posted by millipede at 8:51 PM on August 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
I could see introverts caring more.
posted by millipede at 8:51 PM on August 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I actually did study this in a psych experiment I ran in college. I'll report back once I get a chance to look into what my findings were—I actually got statistically significant results, so there is a difference.
posted by limeonaire at 11:05 PM on August 26, 2017
posted by limeonaire at 11:05 PM on August 26, 2017
I'm from northern Europe where every room has bright ass overhead lighting. Like 100W bulbs in every room in the house. So you can see. I will never understand why Americans like to sit around in the dark. So I'm going to hypothesize that it has more to do with your upbringing and maybe how bright it was outdoors than personality.
posted by fshgrl at 11:08 PM on August 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by fshgrl at 11:08 PM on August 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
I think it might have to do with sensitivity- to physical sensations, but that also often correlates to emotions. I relate to bei ng a Highly Sensitive Person (there's a book, by Elaine Aron) and i don't like overhead lights generally because it's too much harsh light. I'm pretty sure most HSPs would prefer lamps.
posted by bearette at 4:12 AM on August 27, 2017
posted by bearette at 4:12 AM on August 27, 2017
Nothing to do with personality in my case; I prefer overhead lighting because of my particular brand of photosensitivity. If I look directly into a source of light - even a soft one, even very briefly - it causes pain and some degree of temporarily blindness.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:27 AM on August 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:27 AM on August 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
My bedroom came without overhead lighting, so I had to install a ceiling hook and a swag lamp. It's augmented by a lamp (with a cord switch) on top of a really high bookcase.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:31 AM on August 27, 2017
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:31 AM on August 27, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by poppunkcat at 3:37 AM on August 26, 2017 [3 favorites]