An experiment was carried out to examine the method of adjustment when determining user preferences for the colour appearance of ambient lighting. A booth was lit using luminaires containing an array of white and coloured light emitting diodes (LEDs), allowing continuous variation of correlated colour temperature (CCT) between 2736 and 4014 K. It was predicted that the preferred CCT would be influenced by the available stimulus range, the anchor (initial setting before adjustment), adaptation time before onset of adjustment action and type of control dial. Preference was estimated for three different CCT stimulus ranges within the available range. All three ranges led to significantly different results for preferred CCT: 3288, 3490 and 3671 K. The experimental results confirmed that stimulus range, anchor and adaptation time have significant effect on the preferred CCT determined using the adjustment task, and thus, the importance of considering and reporting this information in studies that employ the method of adjustment. (c) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2013