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? ----------------------- 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. ------------------ Stephen ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: sbl...@ubishops.ca 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Subscribe to discussion list (TIPS) for the teaching of psychology at http://flightline.highline.edu/sfrantz/tips/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)