Effects of environmental color on physiological reactions and behavior: A review and critical evaluation
Keywords:
color; hue; color psychology; effect of environment
Abstract
There are many theoretical approaches in color psychology, describing how color of environment influences human physiology, emotional reactions and behavior. This knowledge could potentially be of various practical uses, however, it is still lacking a strong empirical base. This article presents a review of studies concerning effects of environmental color and color of objects on human responses and behavior. It also attempts to evaluate these findings and point out most common problems that should be dealt with in further studies.
References
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Fernandez, K. V., Rosen, D. L. (2000). The effectiveness of information and color in Yellow Pages advertising. Journal of Advertising, 29, 59-73.
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Wilson, D. (1966). Arousal properties of red versus green. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 23, 947-949.
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Alington, D. E., Leaf, R. C., Monaghan, J. R. (1992). Effect of stimulus color, pattern, and practice on sex differences in mental rotations task performance. Journal of Psychology, 126, 539-553.
Bellizzi, J. A., Crowley, A. E., Hasty, R. W. (1981). The effects of color in store design. Journal of Retailing, 59, 21-45.
Dunlap, J. W. (1950). The effect of color in direct mail advertising. Journal of Applied Psychology, 34, 280-281.
Dunwoody, L. (1998). Color or brightness effects on grip strength? Perceptual and Motor Skills, 87, 275-278.
Fernandez, K. V., Rosen, D. L. (2000). The effectiveness of information and color in Yellow Pages advertising. Journal of Advertising, 29, 59-73.
Frank, M. G., Gilovich, T. (1988). The dark side of self- and social perception: Black uniforms and aggression in professional sports. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1, 74-85.
Gilliam, J. E. (1991). The effects of Baker-Miller pink on physiological and cognitive behavior of emotionally disturbed and regular education students. Behavioral Disorders, 17, 47-55.
Godar, S. H. (2000). Use of color and responses to computer-based surveys. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 91, 767-770.
Guilford, J. P., Smith, P. C. (1959). A system of color-preferences. American Journal of Psy- chology, 72, 487-502.
Hardy, C. J. (1997). The effects of environmental color. Journal of Sport Behavior, 20, 299-313.
Hatta, T. I., Yoshida, H., Kawakami, A., Okamoto, M. (2002). Color of computer display frame in work performance, mood, and physiological response. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 94, 39-46.
Herbst, A., Lester, D. (1995). Blue questionnaires and blue mood. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 81, 514.
Jacobs, K. W., Blandino, S. E. (1992). Effects of color of paper on which the Profile of Mood States is printed on the psychological states it measures. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 75, 267-271.
Jacobs, K. W., Hustmyer, F. E. (1974). Effect of four psychological primary colors on GSR, heart rate, and respiration rate. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 38, 763-766.
Keller, L. M., Vautin, R. G. (1998). Effect of viewed color on hand-grip strength. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 87, 763-768.
Kwallek, N., Lewis, C. M., Robbins, A. S. (1988). Effect of office interior color on workers’ mood and productivity. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 66, 123-128.
Levy, J. R. (1950). Changes in galvanic skin response accompanying the Rorschach Test. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 14, 128-133.
Lohse, G. L, Rosen, D. L. (2001). Signaling quality and credibility of Yellow Pages advertising: The influence of color and graphics on choice. Journal of Advertising, 30, 2, 73-85.
Lüscher, M. (1998). Diagnostyka kolorami Maxa Lüschera. Warszawa: PTHP.
Nakshian, J. S. (1964). The effects of red and green surroundings on behavior. Journal of General Psychology, 70, 143-161.
Norman, R. D., Scott, W. A. (1952). Color and affect: A review and semantic evaluation. Journal of General Psychology, 46, 185-223.
Nourse, J. C., Welch, R. B. (1971). Emotional attributes of color: A comparison of violet and green. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 32, 403-406.
O’Connel, B. J., Harper, R. S., McAndrew, F. T. (1985). Grip strength as a function of exposure to red or green visual stimulation. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 61, 1157-1158.
Pickford, R. W. (1971). Review article: The Lüscher Color Test. Occupational Psychology, 45, 151-154.
Popek, S. (2001). Barwy i psychika. Lublin: Wydawnictwo UMCS.
Profusek, P. J., Rainey, D. W. (1987). Effects of Baker-Miller Pink and red on state anxiety, grip strength, and motor precision. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 65, 941-942.
Rossbach, S., Lin Yun (1999). Kolory Feng Shui. Łódź: Wydawnictwo „Ravi”.
Schauss, A. G. (1985). The physiological effect of color on the suppression of human aggression: Research on Baker-Miller pink. International Journal of Biosocial Research, 7, 55-64.
Seidler, T. L. (1995). Effect of different colored test environments on selected physiological and psychological responses during maximal graded treadmill tests. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 80, 225-226.
Sinclair, R. C, Soldat, A. S., Mark, M. M. (1998). Affective cues and processing strategy: Color- -coded examination forms influence performance. Teaching of Psychology, 25, 2, 130-132.
Skinner, N.F. (2004). Differential test performance from differently colored paper: White paper works best. Teaching of Psychology, 31, 2, 111-112.
Smith, J. M., Bell, P. A., Fusco, M. E. (1986). The influence of color and demand characteristics on muscle strength and affective ratings of the environment. Journal of General Psychology, 113, 289-297.
Stone, N. J. (2001). Designing effective study environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21, 370-390.
Stone, N. J. (2003). Environmental view and color for a simulated telemarketing task. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 23, 63-78.
Stone, N. J., English, A. J. (1998). Task type, posters, and workspace color on mood, satisfaction, and performance. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 18, 175-185.
Valdez, P., Mehrabian, A. (1994). Effects of color on emotions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 123, 394-409.
Weller, L., Livingston, R. (1988). Effect of color of questionnaire on emotional responses. Journal of General Psychology, 115, 4, 433-440.
Wilson, D. (1966). Arousal properties of red versus green. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 23, 947-949.
Zellner, D. A., Kautz, M. A. (1990). Color affects perceived odor intensity. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 16, 391-397.
Zellner, D. A., Whitten, L. A. (1999). The effect of color intensity and appropriateness on color-induced odor enhancement. American Journal of Psychology, 112, 585-604.
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