Abstract
Does it matter where you place a fan in an office or store? Can the direction of airflow change how people think? Our research introduces an understudied environmental factor—airflow—and demonstrates that the direction of this airflow can have a profound influence on consumer creativity. We hypothesize that being upwind (i.e., facing the flow of air) versus downwind (i.e., having one’s back to the flow of air) increases consumers’ psychological energy and that this boost in psychological energy has positive consequences for creative performance.