{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T11:14:13Z","timestamp":1771931653385,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":62,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,12]],"date-time":"2026-02-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770854400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      When presented with temperature related options that metaphorically reflect loneliness or non-loneliness, lonely people choose the non-lonely option. Less is known about the reasons for this preference, or whether it also extends to the visual domain. Across six experiments (Total\n                      <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 1,725) we investigate whether background lighting that evokes a conceptual metaphor of loneliness activates undesired self-schemas and motivates preferences for objects presented with bright versus dark background lighting.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods and results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Studies 1-2 found that chronic and state loneliness were associated with preferences for objects in brightness rather than darkness. Study 3 replicated results from Study 2 and provided evidence for the idea that lonely people do not prefer objects in darkness because they evoke a negative self-congruity with the object. Study 4 demonstrated that engaging in conscious information processing of dark background lighting eliminated the effects of loneliness on object preference and the associated negative emotions. Studies 5 and 6 provided evidence that the effects of loneliness were only for objects that had self-referent salience, supporting an ideal self-object congruity hypothesis.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This research reveals a novel link between loneliness and lighting preferences, and as such advances understanding of the metaphorical mapping of loneliness, and the implications of individual differences in loneliness for decision-making and consumer behavior.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1700055","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,12]],"date-time":"2026-02-12T06:59:18Z","timestamp":1770879558000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Loneliness and preferences for objects in light versus dark background lighting"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Fuschia M.","family":"Sirois","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Durham University","place":["Durham, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yanan","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Williams School of Business, Bishop\u2019s University","place":["Sherbrooke, QC, Canada"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"154","DOI":"10.1037\/a0023527","article-title":"The substitutability of physical and social warmth in daily life","volume":"12","author":"Bargh","year":"2012","journal-title":"Emotion"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2658","DOI":"10.1177\/02654075221087190","article-title":"Exploring the nature and variation of the stigma associated with loneliness","volume":"39","author":"Barreto","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. 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