Authors：Yeh MC, Tsai YC, Lin YL, Tseng WL, Lin YT.

Year：2014

Key words：wood flooring, visual stimulation, α activity, electroencephalogram.

　Using wood as a flooring finish is a common and important selection for local interior decoration practice. Human’s feelings and feedback from wooden flooring were investigated through psychological and physiological approaches in the study. A survey with a questionnaire was used to assess the preference of flooring materials among 5 major commercial wood species of various colors. Results indicated that the most favorite wood flooring was made of red incienso, i.e., 44% of interviewed adults, while the least favorite flooring was made of hard maple for 46% of interviewed adults. As to satisfaction with rooms in which different flooring material was installed, high scores were obtained for the psychological images of relaxation, comfort, warmth, and the first impression for wooden flooring compared to ceramic tile flooring. As to colorimetric characteristics of wood in a uniform color space, red incienso flooring material was close to a red color with a lower value of lightness, while hard maple was close to a yellow color with a higher value of lightness. From the electroencephalogram measurements when viewing a room in which different flooring materials were installed, major α activity was found in the brain’s occipital region, and the power of α activity measured when subjects closed their eyes was 3 times that measured when the eyes were open. The α activity measured when subjects were viewing a room in which wooden flooring was installed significantly differed from that when viewing a room covered with ceramic tile flooring. No significant difference in subjects’ α activity was found between rooms with red incienso and hard maple flooring materials, but there may have been different responses to flooring materials between males and females. It was found that the highest α activity or amplitude occurred at 8 Hz when subjects were viewing rooms with different flooring materials, and shifted to around 11 and 12 Hz when subjects closed their eyes.