Medical News Today published an article on the effect of room lighting on decision making. Invoking crime dramas in which suspects are interrogated under bright lights, the report suggests that people tend to feel emotions more intensely in brighter light. This finding is significant not just for retailers but for anyone who consciously uses light in their spaces for a desired effect.

Medical News Today’s story is based on research conducted by academics from the University of Toronto Scarborough and Northwestern University and published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology. As you can guess, based on the journal that published the research, findings about how people act under different lighting conditions has important implications for how people act as CONSUMERS.

Here’s how the study went: A bunch of test subjects were asked to rate an eclectic mix of things, from the spiciness of chicken wings to the aggressiveness of a fictional character. Subjects were also asked to assess the flavor of two kinds of juice, the emotional tenor of certain words, and the attractiveness of a person. The scientists changed lighting levels as they observed their participants’ reactions to these stimuli. As the scientists suspected, lighting levels had an impact on how the participants felt about the things they were rating.

According to Medical News Today, previous studies have established that “people are more optimistic about the stock market, report higher well-being and are more helpful during sunny days, whereas being exposed to gloomy days for long periods of time can result in depressive feelings.”

But, then, the researchers ask, why do suicide rates peak during late spring and early summer months? This new study complicates the common belief that more light equals more happiness.

The researchers have concluded that brighter light levels do not necessarily make people happier. Instead, brighter light levels intensify both positive AND negative emotions. In the brighter room, during the experiment, participants felt more positive emotions in related to positive words and more negative emotions about negative words. They found people more attractive in the brighter room AND felt the fictional character to be more aggressive.

Electric cars are becoming very common. If you have visited a car lot lately, you will see the selection has increased dramatically and Prius is no longer the only game in town. It is the future of cars and there is no time like the present to start learning the ropes of using an electric car for your transportation needs. A Santa Monica electrician is here to help you make the most of your new electric car or make your old one a little better with the installation of a Level II charger at your home. The team at The Electric Connection can assist you in getting the most out of your gas-saving car.

One of the problems with electric cars is their inability to drive long stretches on the battery alone. They are great for commuters with short distances to travel. Most electric cars can go anywhere between 40 to 100 miles on a single charge. Unfortunately, it can take a full day for a car to get a full charge when using a Level I battery charger. An electrician in Santa Monica can install the 240-volt outlet you need to run the Level II or fast charger in your own garage. This means, every day you get home from work, you plug in the car and it is fully charged and ready to go the following morning.

The faster chargers are a bit more expensive up front, but when you factor in the gas savings, it is an investment that will pay off over time. It is also more convenient in general. Because the charger requires more electricity to run, you will need an electrician. Santa Monica homeowners can decide where they want to charge their car and have the outlet installed nearby. Give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your installation.

Whether you have a scheduled lighting project or an emergency on your hands, there are plenty of situations when it’s appropriate to call in a local electrician. For your safety and sanity use a certified electrician that can provide quality work and can be counted on for years to come.

Repairing a Wire Damaged from Drilling a Hole in the WallWhether you’re hanging pictures, shelves or a TV mounting bracket—or any other reason you might be drilling into a wall—there’s always the possibility that you’ll hit and damage a wire. This is definitely a fix you want to leave in the capable hands of a certified electrician.

To prevent the problem from happening again, use a stud finder and aim for the center of the stud. Before drilling, use a small tipped screw driver to verify you are hitting the stud and not the side. Once you have verified, feel free to drill away.

To work with a licensed qualified professional for your next electrical project, please contact a certified electrician at ElectricMan today. ElectricMan is a trusted, local electrician with 27 years of experience. For more information visit the ElectricMan website, and don’t forget to also ‘like’ us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest.