Does Feng Shui Affect Mood?

Research Question:

• Do people feel differently in a room with correct Feng Shui versus a room that does not adhere to the principles of Feng Shui?

The ancient Chinese art of placement, or Feng Shui, is believed to be able to help you feel more relaxed and peaceful in an environment. The objective of this experiment is to evaluate if Feng Shui is really able to change the way that people feel. Two environments will be compared: a room with interior design that uses correct Feng Shui versus one with incorrect Feng Shui.

Materials:

• A large room with furniture
• A guide to Feng Shui
• Approximately 50 test subjects (ask test subjects to bring reading material)
• Computer
• Printer
• Notebook for analyzing results

Experimental Procedure:

1. Research Feng Shui and identify the proper way to organize furniture and decorate your room. Proper furniture arrangement and color-scheme will be dependent on the type of room you choose to design and the location of the room in your house.
2. Create a survey to give to test subjects so that you can gauge their perceptions and feelings in each room. Example questions could include:
   • Rate your current level of stress on a scale of 1 to 10.
   • Rate your current energy level on a scale of 1 to 10.
   • Rate your current level of happiness on a scale of 1 to 10.
   • On a scale of 1 to 10, rate your ability to focus on your book.
3. In groups of two to three, ask test subjects to sit and read in your room for 30 minutes.
4. At the end of the 30 minutes, ask test subjects to complete your survey.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you have collected approximately 25 surveys.
6. Rearrange the room so that it no longer adheres to the principles of Feng Shui.
7. Repeat steps 3 and 4 with different test subjects until you have collected approximately 25 surveys.
8. Analyze the survey results from each group of test subjects. How does Feng Shui affect your test subjects? Do you observe any significant differences in the average ranking for any of your survey questions?

Terms/Concepts: Feng Shui

Reference: Zyga, L. “Feng Shui.”