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Open shelving kitchen cabinets

Open shelving kitchen cabinets has been studied in 1 paper since 2025: 1 trial in people. The newest paper, May 25, 2025: “Visual Accessibility through Open Shelving: Impacts on Cognitive Load, Motivation, Physical Activity, and User Perception in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment”.

Intervention

1 paper studies it4 findingsUpdated

See all 1

“Results showed modest improvements in cognitive load, intrinsic motivation, and task duration”
Visual Accessibility through Open Shelving: Impacts on Cognitive Load, Motivation, Physical Activity, and User Perception in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive ImpairmentmedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences2025doi:10.1101/2025.05.21.25328033

None of its findings points the other way.

C, W, M, H: cells, worms or flies, mice, humans. Dark: independent labs found the same change there. Light: one lab or one study. Outline: nothing yet.

  • 1 lab in 1 country
  • Funder: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
  • Human trial1

Studies in people

1 study gave open shelving kitchen cabinets to people and measured what changed.

What did studies of Open shelving kitchen cabinets find?

2

Studies of Open shelving kitchen cabinets measured 2 outcomes; the most studied are physical activity (1 study) and intrinsic motivation (1).

Physical activity

downin humans1

1 study

  1. Open shelving kitchen cabinets decrease physical activity in humans (dz = 0.06, p < 0.001).

    “Regarding physical exertion, mean acceleration magnitude exhibited a slight yet statistically significant decrease in the open shelving condition compared to the closed cabinets condition (dz = 0.06; p < 0.001).”

    Human trialduring meal preparation taskn = 11

    Visual Accessibility through Open Shelving: Impacts on Cognitive Load, Motivation, Physical Activity, and User Perception in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment

    medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciencesPreprint

  2. Open shelving kitchen cabinets decrease physical activity in humans.

    “physical activity significantly decreasing under open shelving, suggesting greater physical efficiency”

    Human trialduring meal preparation tasksn = 11

    Visual Accessibility through Open Shelving: Impacts on Cognitive Load, Motivation, Physical Activity, and User Perception in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment

    medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciencesPreprint

Intrinsic motivation

upin humans1

1 study

  1. Open shelving kitchen cabinets improve intrinsic motivation in humans (dz = 0.56).

    “IMI survey results indicated that participants reported higher perceived competence (dz = 0.56) and lower pressure/tension (dz = -0.49) under the open shelving condition compared to the closed cabinets condition, suggesting enhanced intrinsic motivation associated with open shelving.”

    Human trialduring meal preparation taskn = 11

    Visual Accessibility through Open Shelving: Impacts on Cognitive Load, Motivation, Physical Activity, and User Perception in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment

    medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciencesPreprint

  2. Open shelving kitchen cabinets improve intrinsic motivation in humans.

    “Results showed modest improvements in cognitive load, intrinsic motivation, and task duration”

    Human trialduring meal preparation tasksn = 11

    Visual Accessibility through Open Shelving: Impacts on Cognitive Load, Motivation, Physical Activity, and User Perception in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment

    medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciencesPreprint

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