The Cathedral effect describes how high ceilings promote abstract thinking and creativity while low ceilings encourage concrete and detail-oriented thinking. Studies have shown that people feel freer and prefer problem solving in rooms with high ceilings compared to feeling confined with low ceilings, and this effect occurs only when ceiling height is noticed. Perspective also influences cognition, with upward views likened to high ceilings and downward views to low ceilings.

1. Cathedral Effect

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.

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.