Specific thinking: The lower ceiling in this soon-to-be completed kitchen should encourage focused, specific thinking.Does the height of the ceiling in the room you’re in impact how you think?

Creative ceiling: The high ceiling of this European art museum encourages creative, free thinking according to the study.New research findings at the University of Minnesota say it does. With a focus on how environmental factors impact the way consumers make purchasing decisions, the study found that rooms with higher ceilings encourage more creative thinking while lowered-ceiling rooms make people focus on more specific information.

Quickly boiling it down, the study shows that a high ceiling can stimulate the concepts of freedom versus confinement that might be felt in a lower-ceilinged room. Depending on what types of decisions marketers what the consumers to make, having the proper ceiling height can put those consumers in a better frame of mind.

So does that play out in other forms of building as well? The study didn’t address that, but think about it. Places where more free-ranging thought takes place – theaters, churches, even museums – generally have high ceilings. Places where you need to get things done with minimal distractions – offices, classrooms, workshops – generally have lower ceilings.

Have you ever noticed how ceiling height impacts your creative or task-oriented thinking? Share your thoughts here with other Science Buzz readers.

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