1. Effects of Color and Emotional Arousal on Visual Perception
By Anna Krivenko, Lauryn Zielinski, Alli Walbolt, Dr. Kristie Payment
Ohio Northern University
Methods
Abstract
Discussion
Participants: 43 undergraduates (26 female, 17 male, ages 18 to 24)
2 x 2 mixed factorial design
Independent Variables: Arousal (Arousal or No Arousal) and Color (Red and Blue)
Dependent Variable: Number of correct responses on the Gabor Patch Orientation Task (left, vertical or right)
Participant Walkthrough:
1. 3 minutes to write one of two essay to manipulate arousal level
Aroused Condition Prompt: Anger is defined as “an emotion related to one's psychological interpretation of having been offended, wronged, or denied and a tendency to react through retaliation use or emotional distress.” Think and write about a time in your past in which you were most angry. Describe in detail what happened, who was involved, how you felt, and any other details about the situation. You will be given 3 minutes and must continue to write until the time is complete.
Non Aroused Condition Prompt: Think and write about your daily routine as an undergraduate college student. Include when you wake up, what you like to eat, typical daily habits or activities, etc. You will be given 3 minutes and must continue to write until the time is complete.
2. PowerPoint to manipulate color prior to viewing the Gabor Patch
3. Self-report measure of emotional arousal to serve as a manipulation check of the arousal independent variable
A 2 X 2 mixed factorial design investigated the effect of color and arousal on visual perception. Undergraduate students responded to an essay prompt (Arousal or No Arousal) which was followed by a 50 trial Gabor Patch perception task which manipulated color (red and blue). Results indicated a main effect of color such that the color red increased visual perception accuracy but no main effect of arousal or interaction between the two. Implications of the current study can extend to further research in mental disorders and the medical field
As hypothesized, accuracy on the Gabor Patch Oreintation task was significantly enhanced following a red stimulus as compared to a blue stimulus.
Consistent with past research that the color red enhances accuracy on the Gabor Patch Orientation Task
Contrary to our hypothesis, the main effect of arousal was not significant nor was the interaction between color and arousal
Inconsistent with past research that showed that arousal creates a bias towards emotionally salient information (Sutherland & Mather, 2012).
Insignificant results may be due to manipulation check of arousal which showed that there were no significant differences between the aroused and non aroused group in a self report measure of arousal
Manipulation Check: self report measure
No significant difference between aroused and non aroused group, T(39)=.994, p=.326
Possible implications
Medicine packaging – using color on packaging as a way to enhance attention on important information
ADHD – using color to help someone in a naturally aroused state to focus attention
Ideas for Future Studies
Utilize a better and more accurate arousal manipulation
Thresholds of emotional arousal
Different color affects on visual perception
Working with ADHD individuals on different factors that could focus attention
Introduction
Background
The color red has been linked to increased visual perception accuracy due to its association with a threat or danger (Young, Ambady, Elliot, & Feltman, 2013) One study indicated a red stimulus enhanced individual’s performance on tasks requiring attention to detail, while the blue stimulus resulted in enhanced performance on more creative tasks (Mehta & Zhu, 2009).
Arousal is linked to visual perception accuracy such that increased arousal biases competition in favor of perceptually salient stimuli and against non-salient stimuli, in other words prioritizing visual information for perceptual processes. This is known as the Arousal-Biased Competition Theory which is currently accepted as an explanation for the impact of arousal on visual perception (Sutherland & Mather, 2012).
Current Study
Examine impact of color (red and blue) and arousal level (aroused or non-aroused) on visual perception accuracy as tested using a Gabor Patch.
Gabor Patch orientations to be determined by participants
Hypotheses
A red stimulus would result in increased number of correct responses on Gabor Patch orientation task as compared to blue.
The aroused group would show an increased number of correct responses on a Gabor Patch orientation task as compared to a non-aroused group.
An interaction between the arousal level and color such that in both arousal conditions, the red stimulus would significantly increase the number of correct responses but in the aroused group, the effect will be significantly greater.
Example of an individual trial
Results
Results of mixed 2 x 2 factorial ANOVA
Significant main effect of color, F(1, 39) = 6.15, p = .002, η2 = .199
No main effect of arousal, F(1, 39) = .029, p = .865, η2 = .037
No significant interaction, F(1, 39) = .317, p = .577, η2 = .034
References
Banaschewski, T., Ruppert, S., Tannock, R., Albrecht, B., Becker, A., Uebel, H., & Rothenberger, A. (2006). Colour perception in ADHD. Journal Of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 47(6), doi: /j x
Irwin, A., Mearns, K., Watson, M., & Urquhart, J. (2013). The effect of proximity, tall man lettering, and time pressure on accurate visual perception of drug names. Human Factors, 55(2),
Mehta, R. P., & Rui, Z. (2009). Blue or red? Exploring the effect of color on cognitive task performances. Advances In Consumer Research, 36,
Sutherland, M., & Mather, M. (2012). Negative arousal amplifies the effects of saliency in short-term memory. Emotion ( ), 12(6), doi: /a
Young, S., Elliot, A., Feltman, R., & Ambady, N. (2013). Red enhances the processing of facial expressions of anger. Emotion ( ), 13(3), doi: /a