On 27 Mar 2009 at 12:02, Paul C Bernhardt wrote:
> The effect of color of a space on any performance variable has found
> precious little space in the scholarly psychology literature, excepting
> its use as 'cultural codes' for wayfinding and safety. Quoting Bell,
> Greene, Fisher, and Baum (2001), "Popular articles abound, but there is
> very little recent empirical research directed specifically at the
> effectiveness of various manipulations of environmental color. We are
> forced to join those who conclude that the literature addressing the
> application of color is surprisingly limited (e.g., Read et al., 1999;
> Sanders & McCormick, 1993)."
That was then, this is now. A study was just published in _Science_
which finds colour effects on cognitive performance. And would _Science_
lie to you?
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Science 27 February 2009:
Vol. 323. no. 5918, pp. 1226 - 1229
Blue or Red? Exploring the Effect of Color on Cognitive Task Performances
Ravi Mehta and Rui (Juliet) Zhu*
Existing research reports inconsistent findings with regard to the effect
of color on cognitive task performances. Some research suggests that blue
or green leads to better performances than red; other studies record the
opposite. Current work reconciles this discrepancy. We demonstrate that
red (versus blue) color induces primarily an avoidance (versus approach)
motivation (study 1, n = 69) and that red enhances performance on a
detail-oriented task, whereas blue enhances performance on a creative
task (studies 2 and 3, n = 208 and 118). Further, we replicate these
results in the domains of product design (study 4, n = 42) and persuasive
message evaluation (study 5, n = 161) and show that these effects occur
outside of individuals' consciousness (study 6, n = 68). We also provide
process evidence suggesting that the activation of alternative
motivations mediates the effect of color on cognitive task performances.
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Stephen
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Stephen L. Black, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology, Emeritus
Bishop's University e-mail: [email protected]
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