Color has been around us and even exists in educational setting. Previous studies show the debilitating effect of red on challenging mental tasks (e.g., IQ Test). Here, we hypothesized that perceiving red—a harsh color, will result in lower test scores. There were 32 university students (12 men, 20 women) in the present work. They were randomly assigned to red, blue, and white test papers. Results showed a higher group means from the red test paper condition. This discrepancy is likely due to small sample size and habituation to the color stimuli over time. Comparison to other modes of test administration (i.e., computers) and implications to applied research were discussed for future directions.
The ubiquity of color affects …show more content…
Using red test paper did not result to lower test scores. The red condition obtained the highest mean of 4.67. Thus, the undermining effect of red was not detected here in comparison to the previous studies (Elliot, et al., 2007; Gnambs, et al., 2015; Maier, et al., 2008; Meier, et al., 2012; Shi, Zhang, & Jiang, 2015). The inconsistency is likely to be due to small sample size. There were only 32 participants in the current study whereas studies conducted before had a bigger sample size. The tests were administered in a way that participants were fully aware of their assigned color group from other participants around them. Also, room conditions during the second part of the data collection might have been different from the initial experimentation (e.g., lighting). Moreover, Küller, Mikellides, and Janssens (as cited in Elliot and Meier, 2014) suggested that longer exposure to the color stimuli might lead to habituation. Hence, this resulted to a diminished effect of color over time. A test to identify color blindness can be considered to countermeasure any effect this will have on future research. Besides, tests are not only present in paper form. Educational institutions use computers during exams with more complex calibration of color schema, brightness, and contrast. A comparison of different modes (e.g., paper, on screen) where tests are administered and if it yields consistent results regarding the negative effect of red, can contribute to the expanding area of color studies as well as, applied
The ubiquity of color affects …show more content…
Using red test paper did not result to lower test scores. The red condition obtained the highest mean of 4.67. Thus, the undermining effect of red was not detected here in comparison to the previous studies (Elliot, et al., 2007; Gnambs, et al., 2015; Maier, et al., 2008; Meier, et al., 2012; Shi, Zhang, & Jiang, 2015). The inconsistency is likely to be due to small sample size. There were only 32 participants in the current study whereas studies conducted before had a bigger sample size. The tests were administered in a way that participants were fully aware of their assigned color group from other participants around them. Also, room conditions during the second part of the data collection might have been different from the initial experimentation (e.g., lighting). Moreover, Küller, Mikellides, and Janssens (as cited in Elliot and Meier, 2014) suggested that longer exposure to the color stimuli might lead to habituation. Hence, this resulted to a diminished effect of color over time. A test to identify color blindness can be considered to countermeasure any effect this will have on future research. Besides, tests are not only present in paper form. Educational institutions use computers during exams with more complex calibration of color schema, brightness, and contrast. A comparison of different modes (e.g., paper, on screen) where tests are administered and if it yields consistent results regarding the negative effect of red, can contribute to the expanding area of color studies as well as, applied