PNNL

Abstract

This article explores best practices for conducting psychophysical experiments that investigate how colour rendition influences the perception of architectural environments. We offer guidance that covers all stages of research from preliminary development to publication, focusing especially on experiments that investigate qualities such as perceived naturalness, vividness, preference, or acceptability in response to changes in the spectral power distribution (SPD) of light sources. This article is intended to be a consolidated guide for researchers and reviewers of this type of research. Key recommendations include: 1) New work should be motivated by clearly expressed research questions and, when possible, explicit hypotheses that build on the existing body of knowledge, 2) Visual stimuli comprising SPDs and visual targets should be deliberately engineered to probe the research questions, 3) Experiments should be designed to lessen potential biases, 4) Reporting of experimental conditions and statistical analyses should be thorough, and 5) Results should be contextual, resisting overgeneralization that cannot be supported by the data. Our motivation is to encourage high quality research that is credible and discourage poor quality research that slows scientific progress and misuses resources.