Measuring and understanding the world through science

Reflections on Methodology and Its Implications

This project took an interdisciplinary approach to examining two aspects of daily life—pain and comfort—with regard to parallels and discrepancies in their perception and their dynamic changes (adaptation and alliesthesia), by combining psychological pain research with building physics-based comfort research. In the first part of the project, a methodology consisting of qualitative and quantitative elements was successfully developed, enabling these processes to be better measured and understood. In the second part of the project, the focus was on understanding and explaining dynamic perception processes and their influencing factors. The project yielded important findings, such as the realization that the unconsidered use of scales to assess perception can lead to distortions; solutions to this problem were developed and validated, as was the description of a new theoretical concept of seasonal alliesthesia.

Publications resulting from the project:

• Becker S., Fuchs X., Schakib-Ektaban K., Schweiker M. (2020). What does "moderate pain" mean? Subgroups with different conceptions of rating scales evaluate experimental pain differently. European Journal of Pain 24(39): 625–638. doi:10.1002/ejp.1514
• Schweiker, M., Schakib-Ekbatan, K., Fuchs, X., & Becker, S. (2020). A seasonal approach to alliesthesia. Is there a conflict with thermal adaptation? Energy and Buildings 212: 109745. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2019.109745
• Schweiker M., André M., Al-Atrash F., Al-Khatri H., Alprianti R.R., Alsaad H., Amin R., Ampatzi E., Arsano A.Y., Montazami Azadehk, Azar E., Bahareh B., Batagarawa A., Becker S., et al. (2020). Evaluating assumptions of scales for subjective assessment of thermal environments – do laypersons perceive them the way we researchers believe? Energy and Buildings 211: 109761. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2020.109761
• Schweiker M., Abdul-Zahra A., Afonso de André M., Al-Atrash F., Al-Khatri H., Risky Alprianti R., Alsaad H., Amin R., Ampatzi E., Arsano A.Y., Azadeh M., Azar E., Bahareh B., Batagarawa A., Becker S., et al. (2019). The Scales Project, a cross-national dataset on the interpretation of thermal comfort scales. Scientific Data, 6(289): 1–10. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.9805289
• Fuchs X., Becker S., Schakib-Ekbatan K., Schweiker M . (2018). Subgroups with different conceptions of scales rate room temperatures differently. Building and Environment 128: 236–247. doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.11.034
• Schakib-Ekbatan K., Becker S., Cannistraro A., Schweiker M. (2018). What do people associate with “cold” or “hot”? - Qualitative analyses of the ASHRAE scale labels. In: 10th Windsor Conference – Rethinking Comfort.
• Schweiker, M., Becker, S., and Schakib-Ekbatan, K. (2018). Thermal adaptation and seasonal alliesthesia: Two conflicting concepts? In: 10th Windsor Conference - Rethinking Comfort.
• Becker, S., & Schweiker, M. (2017). Reflections and perspectives on the research fields of thermal comfort in the workplace and pain. In M. Schweiker, J. Hass, A. Novokhatko, & R. Halbleib (Eds.), Measuring and Understanding in Science. Springer: 187–206.
• Fuchs X., Schweiker M., Becker S. (2017). Do “cool” and “painful” mean the same thing to different people? Subgroups with different conceptions of scales also show different responses under experimental conditions. In: Program of the 59th Conference of Experimental Psychologists (TeaP 2017), Dresden.
• Krause, M.J., and Becker, S. (2017). Conclusion – Measuring and Understanding the World through Science. In: M. Schweiker, J. Hass, A. Novokhatko, and R. Halbleib (eds.), Measuring and Understanding in Science – Interdisciplinary Approaches. Springer: 27–286.
• Schweiker, M., Fuchs, X., Becker, S., Dovjak, M., Shukuya, M., Hawighorst, M., & Kolarik, J. (2017). Challenging the assumptions related to the usage of thermal sensation scales. Building Research & Information 45(5): 572–589. doi:10.1080/09613218.2016.1183185
• Schweiker, M., Hass, J., Novokhatko, A., & Halbleib, R. (eds.) (2017). Measurement and Understanding in Science. Springer: 187–206.

Conferences, workshops, and seminars organized as part of the project:

• Workshop “Scales Applied in Thermal Comfort Research”(April 2015).
• Workshop “Perception in Numbers” (June 3, 2015, Heidelberg).

International Symposium "Perception of Thermal Comfort and Pain - Are We Assessing Their Dynamics Correctly?" (November 9–10, 2017, Heidelberg).

Fellow students:

• Dr. Susanne Becker
• Dr. Marcel Schweiker