Effect of perceived control on human thermal comfort in heated environments

To study the effects of perceived control on human thermal sensation and thermal comfort in heated environments,a psychological experiment was conducted.In total,24 subjects participated in an experiment.The experiment consisted of two cases in which the indoor temperature was set at 18℃ with different cold radiation temperatures.The experiment lasted for 120 min and was divided into three phases,adaptation,without perceived control and perceived control.In the second phase,the subjects were told in advance that the indoor temperature could not be adjusted.In the third phase,subjects were told that they could adjust the indoor temperature to meet their own thermal expectations,but the indoor temperature could not actually be changed.The results showed that the effect of perceived control on thermal sensation was related to the thermal expectation.For people with strong expectations for a neutral environment,perceived control improved their thermal sensation by satisfying their thermal expectations.For people with low thermal expectations,perceived control reduced their thermal tolerance to the environment,eventually leading to thermal discomfort.These new findings provide more supports for the importance of psychological effects and a reference for the personal control of heating temperatures.