2. The Cathedral effect describes the
influence of the perceived height
of a ceiling and human thinking
3. High ceilings abstract thinking and
creativity
Low ceilings concrete and detail-
oriented thinking.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8. • Most people prefer high ceilings to low
ceilings, and the Cathedral effect
demonstrates that the environment can
impact our approach to problem solving
• In self-report measures, people predictably
rated their general affect as “freer” in high-
ceilinged rooms versus “confined” in low-
ceilinged rooms.
• No effect is observed if the ceiling height goes
unnoticed.
9. • A related effect pertains to visual perspective:
worm’s-eye views (looking upward) evoke
cognition and associations similar to high
ceilings, whereas bird’s-eye views (looking
downward) evoke cognition and associations
similar to low ceilings.
Editor's Notes
There is research that suggests that people complete tasks differently in environments where there are notably high or notably low ceilings
The ability to focus and perform detail-oriented work is enhanced by environments with low ceilings.
The ability to perform more creative work is enhanced by environments with high ceilings.
It is widely accepted that people prefer high ceilings to low ceilings.
