The lighting environment has transcended purely functional illumination and has evolved into a critical medium for orchestrating narrative rhythm and modulating audience emotional responses. However, existing studies often examine photometric properties and human emotional responses in isolation, failing to establish a quantitative coupling mechanism to elucidate the relationship between light distribution, visual attention, and emotional states. This study aims to quantify the coupling mechanisms between luminous environmental parameters (illuminance and CCT), visual attention distribution, and emotional states (PAD) in immersive narrative exhibition spaces for the optimization of visitor experience. Four screen-based simulated narrative scenes were constructed with different illumination levels (low/high) and four levels of correlated color temperature (2700 K, 3000 K, 4000 K, and 5000 K). Using the SIFT algorithm, the illuminance pseudo-color map and the eye-tracking heat map were spatially registered to quantify the spatial correlation between the physical light field and the visual attention field. The results demonstrate a significant nonlinear coupling effect: high-illuminance cold light (4000 K, 544 lx) establishes a strong guidance mechanism, with a high spatial correlation between visual attention and brightness (r = 0.82), which significantly enhances physiological arousal and perceived dominance. Conversely, low-illuminance warm light (2700 K, 150 lx) leads to a weak coupling state (r = 0.62), which promotes free visual exploration, thereby improving pleasure and perceived immersion. These results suggest that lighting design should not be treated as a fixed set of parameters, but rather as an adjustable strategy that responds to changes in visual attention and emotional experience. By modifying the strength of visual and optical interaction, lighting conditions can influence how visitors move from initial perception to emotional engagement. This provides practical support for applying evidence-based lighting strategies in the design of cultural heritage spaces.
Wang et al. (Sun,) studied this question.