Color actually influences the ways we think and this often occurs
without our awareness. In my cognitive psychology class, my professor talked
about a study where blue can cause us to feel more relaxed and think more
creatively while red causes us to feel more alert and think more attentively.
And how the color affects us depends on our association we have for the
colors.
Everyone shares different experiences, but for many the color red is
related to ‘ambulance, stop signs, red lights’ that causes us to pay more
attention while blue is related to the ‘sky’ which makes us feel free and more
opened.
Study
The study conducted by Ravi Mehta, professor of business specializing in
consumer behavior, had participants perform a series of psychological tasks
that were either attention-based (red) or creativity-based (blue) backgrounds.
Then the subjects were asked to choose toothpaste that either prevented
cavities or whitened teeth. The participants who were affected by the color red
were more likely to choose the cavities prevention while the blue participants
chose the whitening teeth.
Rational
Participants exposed to the tasks in the red background were
subconsciously primed to become more careful. The red reminded them of stop
signs, stop lights, ambulance that cause them to avoid or choose things that
helped them avoid some problems (in this case, cavities).
While the participants exposed to the blue background were reminded of
the sky, freedom and growth. So they choose to approach situations that helped
them gain. In this case, to gain whiter teeth.
Implications
Colors, hence, do really play in our cognition. We are affected by
different colors and we don’t even know it. The effects are real. Since we know
this, we might want to be more observant and careful.
Bonus Studying Tip: To study more attentively, study with a red
background or to think more creatively or be more creative, study with a blue
background. A study in my class talked about how people doing tests in red
papers as opposed to blue or white were able to score higher.
Post a Comment