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Investigation of color‐emotion associations of the university students
Abstract
This study aims to research the effect of the interface background color choice on the emotion of university students. The study group consisted of 929 Turkish students studying at the vocational colleges of technical and social sciences in Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey. In this study, the descriptive method was used. A color effect form developed by the researcher was used. The validity of the tool was controlled by the faculty members in the Guidance and Psychological Counseling Department of Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University. The analysis of the findings showed that primary, secondary, and tertiary colors had positive impacts on the participants' perceptions except for gray color. In this negative perception, the boredom perception of the gray was affective. The colors having the most positive perceptions of the participants were white, blue, and red. In the positive perception of these colors, their perception of relaxing and encouraging was effective. In the colors' effect, there were significant differences according to the gender and academic education department. Red, black, white, gray, and purple colors' effect changed according to gender, while red, blue, and purple colors' effect changed according to the education department. As a result, this study, which is conducted with the participation of a large number and the usage of software, is expected to be a good reference on color perception and color design for software interface designers.
... This research contributes to the literature on categorical colormap design (Lee, Sips, and Seidel 2013;Lin et al. 2013;Schloss et al. 2018;Brewer 1994), to studies of color-emotion associations (Demir 2020;Hanada 2018;Jonauskaite et al. 2020;Fugate and Franco 2019), and to the general body of emotional mapping research (Griffin and McQuoid 2012;Caquard and Griffin 2018). ...
... A direct and reliable way of estimating human color-concept associations is by human judgments. Such user studies usually involve rating the strength of association between colors and concepts (Schloss et al. 2018), selecting colors that fit concepts best (D'Andrade and Egan 1974; Ou et al. 2004), or naming concepts associated with colors (Demir 2020;Hanada 2018). There is an alternative approach of automatically deriving human color-concept associations from large, user-generated datasets like tagged images (Hauthal and Burghardt 2013;Rathore et al. 2020) or textual data (Bostan and Klinger 2018;Mohammad 2016). ...
... For example, different shades of red were a popular choice for anger, gray for boredom, and dark blue and black for sadness. Color selections from Experiment 1 also match with the general color-emotion associations summarized by Demir (2020). Our empirical data demonstrate fairly low specificity (one color being selected exclusively for a particular emotion) and consistency (only similar-looking colors being selected for an emotion), consistent with the findings of Fugate and Franco (2019). ...
Emotions are touchstones of humans’ everyday life experiences. Maps of emotions inform a variety of research from urban planning and disaster response to marketing studies. Emotions are most often shown on maps with colors. Previous research suggests that humans have subjective associations between colors and emotions that impact objective task performance. Thus, a mismatch between the emotion associated with a color and the emotion it represents may bias the viewer’s attention, perception, and understanding of the map. There are no guidelines that can help cartographers and designers choose matching colors to display spatial emotional data. This study aimed to address this gap by suggesting cognitively congruent color palettes—color sets matched to emotions in a way that is aligned with color-emotion associations. To obtain the set of candidate congruent colors and identify appropriate color-to-emotion assignments, two user experiments were conducted with participants in the United States. In the first, participants picked a representative color for 23 discrete emotions. In the second experiment, for each candidate color from a set derived from the results of the first experiment, participants selected the best-matching emotions. The probability of the emotion being selected served as a measure of how representative the color is of that emotion. Due to the many-to-many nature of associations between colors and emotions, suitable color choices were incorporated into a dynamic palette generation tool. This tool solves the color assignment problem and produces a suitable color palette depending on the combination of selected emotions.
... Sport management scholars seek to identify the key drivers that would help attract nonfans or potential fans to sports teams (Asada & Ko, 2016, 2020Melnick & Wann, 2011) and develop effective strategies that improve services during sport events Yoshida et al., 2013). One conventional strategy recommended by scholars is to improve a team's branding approach. ...
... Consumer behavior and social psychology studies Steidle et al., 2011) suggest that background colors considerably influence consumers' perception of the brand's anthropomorphism and their emotions, moods, and consumption choices. Colors can be generally classified as warm (e.g., red, orange, and yellow) and cool (e.g., blue, green, and purple), where each color category possesses unique meanings and associations that have dynamic consequences for consumer responses (Bellizzi & Hite, 1992;Demir, 2020). Furthermore, consumers' color preferences may vary depending on the consumption context because individuals pay special attention to the meanings embodied by the different colors (Özkul et al., 2020). ...
... cool-colored lights) on customer satisfaction, in the context of hospitality services. The results of these studies and existing literature agree that cool colors are preferable for companies offering financial and accounting services because cool colors signal a sense of security and credibility (Demir, 2020), whereas warm colors are preferred for interaction-centric services (e.g., education, hotels, and restaurants) because these colors symbolize welcoming and friendly environments (Demir, 2020;Özkul et al., 2020). Likewise, scholars also suggest that using warm (rather than cool) colors in promotional messages are likely to evoke feelings of warmth, friendliness, sympathy, and kindness among consumers, which in turn helps to develop the brand's perceived anthropomorphism. ...
Most sport teams utilize mascots as a distinctive brand element to draw the attention of existing and potential fans and to deliver optimal fan experiences. We investigated the effects of anthropomorphic promotion using team mascots on the potential fans’ psychological and behavioral responses. We employed a 2 (figure: logo vs. mascot) × 2 (background color: cool vs. warm) between-subjects factorial design, using the Miami Marlins in the experimental scenario. After controlling for baseball involvement and brand familiarity, analysis of data obtained from 239 potential fans demonstrated the positive effect of anthropomorphic promotion using team mascots on participants’ psychological closeness and media consumption intentions. To explain the psychological mechanism of this effect, we tested and confirmed a causal model containing a sequential mediation (figure type → perceived anthropomorphism → psychological closeness → media consumption intentions), in conjunction with perceived loneliness.
... White has been associated with positive emotions according to Sutton in 2016 [25] and Jonauskaite et al. in 2020 [15], and had the largest number of positive responses according to Takahashi et al. in 2018 [26]. White has also been associated with traits such as cleanliness, purity, and emptiness by Hanada in 2018 [27], purity by Tham [14], calming, peaceful and gentle by Demir in 2020 [28], and relief by Jonauskaite et al. in 2020 [15]. ...
... White color was mainly associated with both purity and calm as per the survey results, in addition to prior studies [14,15,27,28]. White was perceived as most effective for the anti-anxiety efficacy, pain relief, and antacid efficacies, and scored the second highest for the sedative efficacy. ...
... Blue and white colors, often together, ranked the highest for sedative and antianxiety efficacy categories, following expectations because blue was associated with sedatives [13,22], calmness, quiet, water, and sky [5,19,20,[25][26][27][28], while white was associated with calm, peace and gentle [27,29]. This is also aligned with the results of most ethnicities, all age groups and geographical locations. ...
... White was mainly associated with both purity and calm as per Part 2B, in addition to prior studies [5,27,29,33]. White ranked most effective for the anti-anxiety, pain relief, and antacid efficacies, and second highest for the sedative efficacy category (See Figure 9). ...
Colors influence our daily perceptions and expectations that manifest in a variety of ways. This research has three main objectives: to demonstrate the relationship between the colors of pills and their expected efficacies, to test this effect on a wide variety of demographics, thereby demonstrating their influence on choices made by participants. Finally, to understand the reasoning behind the choices made by participants, and the color associations exhibited. The results of a series of surveys showed clear similarities and differences across various demographics. The strongest and most consistent color associations were those of white with pain relief and red with stimulant efficacies. The color associations found were red with aggression and power, blue with calmness and serenity, white with calm and purity, yellow with energy, and green with environment and health. The findings of this study can help pharmaceutical companies, and medical practitioners, to better make, market, and prescribe pills, depending on the geographical location, ethnicity, and age group of the patient. This may also strengthen the perceived effects of the pills on patients overall by increasing their compliance rates.
... The impact of colors on emotion perception have been shown in internet web design (Demir, 2020) and physical spaces (Kurt and Osueke, 2014). Kurt and Osueke (2014) found that spaces with a dominant red color were more likely to be described by as "excitement inducing, " aligning with the view of Birren (1950), who suggested that warmer hues, such as red and yellow, can increase arousal in an individual more than cooler hues, such as blue and green. ...
... The results of this study did not support the hypothesis that hue affects arousal perception of music performance. Several studies used to build our hypothesis measured the level of arousal through direct inspection of color itself (Kurt and Osueke, 2014;Demir, 2020), or based by pairing color and music (Bresin, 2005; Familiarity of the piece was rated on a three-point scale: unfamiliar (1), somewhat familiar (2), or very familiar (3). See Table 1 for abbreviations of the four music excerpts played. ...
This study sought to determine if hues overlayed on a video recording of a piano performance would systematically influence perception of its emotional arousal level. The hues were artificially added to a series of four short video excerpts of different performances using video editing software. Over two experiments 106 participants were sorted into 4 conditions, with each viewing different combinations of musical excerpts (two excerpts with nominally high arousal and two excerpts with nominally low arousal) and hue (red or blue) combinations. Participants rated the emotional arousal depicted by each excerpt. Results indicated that the overall arousal ratings were consistent with the nominal arousal of the selected excerpts. However, hues added to video produced no significant effect on arousal ratings, contrary to predictions. This could be due to the domination of the combined effects of other channels of information (e.g., the music and player movement) over the emotional effects of the hypothesized influence of hue on perceived performance (red expected to enhance and blue to reduce arousal of the performance). To our knowledge this is the first study to investigate the impact of these hues upon perceived arousal of music performance, and has implications for musical performers and stage lighting. Further research that investigates reactions during live performance and manipulation of a wider range of lighting hues, saturation and brightness levels, and editing techniques, is recommended to further scrutinize the veracity of the findings.
... Many studies have been performed on the association between emotions and colors (Birren, 1978;Kaya and Epps, 2004;Nijdam, 2009;Chang and Lin, 2010;Hanada, 2018;Demir, 2020). Taking a look at these research findings, some emotions show consistent corresponding relationships, such as anger being associated with red and sadness being associated with blue, while other emotions do not show consistent corresponding relationships. ...
In recent years, communication robots are commonly used in various places and situations such as guidance work at hotels and stations and elderly supports for the purpose of reducing human loads and releasing from simple works. However, it is also shown that people still have a sense of anxiety toward robots. For this reason, there are few people who have motivations to communicate with robots. On the other hand, it has been suggested that the emotion expression of robots contributes to create a sense of familiarity and smooth communication. Therefore, we propose a method of emotion expression and enhancement by changing the color of the clothes the robot is wearing. Also, we have clarified the matching between the clothes colors and 10 emotions (joy, anger, sorrow, fear, shame, like, dislike, excite, relief and surprise). In this research, we investigate the influences of changing the clothes color in scenes where the robot's speech emotions change in time series. As a result of the experiment, it becomes clear that feeling of transmission can be improved by changing the clothes color according to the speech emotion in case that the mechanism of clothes color change is correctly understood. On the other hand, feeling of transmission is decreased in case that the mechanism is not understood.
... However, a lot of studies on urban blue spaces have also indicated that a higher proportion of blue color is typically more effective in relieving stress and promoting positive emotions, particularly happiness [70,71]. Additionally, gray spaces are more likely to trigger negative emotions of disgust, sadness [13], while gray usually tends to be boring [72]. The negative effect of the color ratios of blue and gray on positive CER in this study, may be attributed to the over-opened gray-blue skies and large areas of gray floor paving in the outdoor spaces of Yi Jie Qu. ...
Addressing the emotional needs of the elderly in urban space design has increasingly become a vital concern. This study innovatively integrates emotional theories with the design of community outdoor spaces, thereby expanding the research on emotional categorization in urban spaces. At 8 community outdoor space sites in Yi Jie Qu, China, 330 elderly residents were randomly recruited to assess their color emotional responses (CER) to the color landscapes of these spaces. Based on the Affective Circumplex Model and Japanese Color Image Theory, a Color Emotion Circumplex was constructed to visually represent the overall emotional tendencies and significant positive emotions of the elderly. The second innovation of this research lies in exploring the driving factors behind positive emotional responses of the elderly, the primary user group of community outdoor spaces. We analyzed the significant differences in CER between autumn and winter scenes, employing variance analysis, correlation, and regression to investigate the substantial effects of individual factors and color characteristics on positive CER. The study discovered that the elderly exhibit a stronger CER towards clean and healthy emotions. Notably, CER was more pronounced in autumn scenes compared to winter. Furthermore, educational level, visit frequency, and color brightness positively influenced positive CER, whereas walking time from residence and the color area ratios of blue and gray negatively impacted CER. These findings not only provide a theoretical basis for age-friendly color design in community spaces, but also offer new perspectives and practical guidance for the international community planning and design domain. Our research underscores the importance of incorporating the emotional needs of the elderly into urban space design, offering novel theoretical and practical guidance for future urban planning and community design.
... Finally, Adobe Premiere Pro was used to change the colour of the door. After a detailed analysis of the existing literature [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21], the following colours were chosen, because they have been shown to be generally associated with certain basic emotions: ...
Knocking on a yellow door: Interactions among knocking sounds, colours, and emotions
... A chosen mapping between visual channels and data can be the source of errors or unexpected behavior [71]. For example, colors can perpetuate stereotypes such as "pink for girls and blue for boys" [30,Chapter 4], influence decisionmaking processes [48], and have strong emotional associations [27] (for example, "red" is associated with anger for English speakers [36]). Moreover, research has provided extensive evidence that color per-ception [78], association [46], and preference [35,46,51] are socially constructed and transform what could otherwise be an individual choice into standardized behavior. ...
We present an analysis of the representation of gender as a data dimension in data visualizations and propose a set of considerations around visual variables and annotations for gender-related data. Gender is a common demographic dimension of data collected from study or survey participants, passengers, or customers, as well as across academic studies, especially in certain disciplines like sociology. Our work contributes to multiple ongoing discussions on the ethical implications of data visualizations. By choosing specific data, visual variables, and text labels, visualization designers may, inadvertently or not, perpetuate stereotypes and biases. Here, our goal is to start an evolving discussion on how to represent data on gender in data visualizations and raise awareness of the subtleties of choosing visual variables and words in gender visualizations. In order to ground this discussion, we collected and coded gender visualizations and their captions from five different scientific communities (Biology, Politics, Social Studies, Visualisation, and Human-Computer Interaction), in addition to images from Tableau Public and the Information Is Beautiful awards showcase. Overall we found that representation types are community-specific, color hue is the dominant visual channel for gender data, and nonconforming gender is under-represented. We end our paper with a discussion of considerations for gender visualization derived from our coding and the literature and recommendations for large data collection bodies. A free copy of this paper and all supplemental materials are available at https://osf.io/v9ams/
... In paintings, the colour gives people the most direct and effective intuitive feelings. The effect of colour on emotional perception could be found in internet web page design (Demir, 2020) and physical space (Kurt and Osueke, 2014). Space, where its dominant colour was red, would be more possibly described as "stimulus induction", which was identical to Birren's viewpoint (Birren, 1950). ...
Experiencing psychological stress due to the demands of modern life is common, but engaging with innovative digital art has the potential to alleviate this stress and provide a source of relaxation. Moreover, the interactive and dynamic nature of digital art offers diverse and distinctive experiences. The aim of this article is to determine if the process of transferring dynamic digital art images while playing happy and sad music can have an impact on an individual's stress level. For the experiment, two congruent audio-visual digital art videos were used as stimuli to assess their potential stress-relieving effects. A total of 24 participants were invited to participate and were divided into 3 groups. To induce a stress response in the participants, the Trier Social Stress Test was employed in the experiment. Following this, two separate groups were shown videos with different emotional tones, namely joy and sadness. The third group was the control group. The study assessed changes in participants' stress levels before and after the experiment using two tools: the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Empatica E4. According to the study, both happy and sad videos were effective in reducing stress levels. The findings of this research could inform the development of digital art as a potential tool for stress management and emotional intervention.
... The results showed that only gray was joined with negative emotions. On the other hand, yellow and orange were usually linked to enthusiasm, blue and green to peace, red to passion, purple to fun, and white to cleanliness [29]. Takei and Imaizumi [30] conducted two experiments to explore if yellow boost the recognition of happiness and gray and blue the recognition of sadness. ...
In this paper, we investigate the relationship between emotions and colors by showing robot animated emotion faces and colors to the participants through a series of surveys. We focused on representing a visualized emotion through a robot's facial expression and background colors. To complete the emotion design with animated faces and color background, we gave an experimental design for surveying the users' thoughts. We took an example of a robot animated face by using the ASUS Zenbo. We selected 11 colors as our color background and 24 facial expressions from Zenbo. To analyze our results from questionnaires, we used histograms to show the basic data situation and the multiple logistic regression analysis (MLRA) to see the marginal relationships. We separated our questionnaires into positive and negative questionnaires and divided the dataset into three cases to discuss the different relationships between color and emotion. Results showed that people preferred the blue color no matter whether the face was showing positive or negative emotion. The MLRA also showed the correct percentage is outstanding in case 2, either positive emotion or negative emotion. Participants thought Zenbo's robotic animated face was the same as they thought. Through our experimental design, we hope that people can consider more colors with emotion to design the human–robot interface that will be closer to the users' thoughts and make life more colorful with comfortable reactions with robots.
... The result might indicate the possibility of a more complex semantic association of blue. Unlike the common association between red and anger, sometimes, there is an association between blue and positive valence (i.e., Hemphill, 1996;Demir, 2020). Considering a finding on the effect of green on positive word processing (Moller et al., 2009), a further study including green beside red and blue may provide additional answers. ...
Specific emotions and colors are associated. The current study tested whether the interference of colors with affective processing occurs solely in the semantic stage or extends to a more complex stage like the lexical processing of emotional words. We performed two experiments to determine the effect of colors on affective processing. In Experiment 1, participants completed a color-emotion priming task. The priming stimulus included a color-tinted (blue, red, and gray) image of a neutral face, followed by a target stimulus of gray-scaled emotional (angry and sad) and neutral faces after 50 ms. Experiment 2 used a modified emostroop paradigm and superimposed emotion words on the center of the color-tinted emotional and neutral faces. Results showed the priming effect of red for the angry face compared to the control, but not in blue for the sad face compared to the control. However, responses to the blue-sad pair were significantly faster than the red-sad pair. In the color-emostroop task, we observed a significant interaction between color and emotion target words in the modified emostroop task. Participants detected sad targets more accurately and faster in blue than red, but only in the incongruent condition. The results indicate that the influence of color in the processing of emotional information exists at the semantic level but found no evidence supporting the lexical level effect.
... In an experiment with Turkish students, the most active colors among participants were white, blue, and red. The red color is very different from the results of this study, which may be cultural differences [10]. Research shows that the application of computer image processing in web page design can increase the artistry and attractiveness of web pages, and can greatly promote the development of the industry. ...
The visual language of a web page reflects its quality and emotion. Compared with static web page designs, dynamic web page designs enable easier reading and is more effective in attracting the attention of users. In this study, web pages were created using programs that applied three dynamic web page creation languages, namely HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS3. Moreover, the most suitable type of dynamic web page design was determined through experiments and analyses on diverse psychological feelings for web page composition and colors. Such experiments and analyses allow web page designers to understand users’ psychological factors more easily for developing the most suitable visual design for dynamic web pages. This study involved three parts: (1) understanding the status of current dynamic web page design, collecting HTML5 dynamic home pages of websites, and conducting experiments and analyses on web page contents; (2) exploring feelings regarding the use of websites and identifying optimized styles of dynamic web page design according to the compositions and dynamic representations of web images; and (3) developing superior color schemes for dynamic web page design and providing a reference for applying colors to dynamic web page design. The research results indicated that the design covered entirely with carousel images when the home page remained static had the best visual effect, followed by the design containing carousel images and 1/10th area of blank space to the left and right sides of the images when the home page remained static. The affective adjective pair with the best fit in the experiments was difficult–convenient, followed by trivial–simple and annoying–favorite. The most popular color for dynamic web pages was dark royal blue (L46.8, A17.8, and B-66.7), followed by dark cyan (L36.2, A-39.9, and B40.8). The results obtained through experiments on dynamic web pages in this study serve as a reference for web designers and researchers to configure the composition and colors of dynamic web page design.
... The color combination of green, red, and yellow in were not wellreceived by the participants of the present study, and this is a topic that warrants further investigation. A study demonstrated that differences in cultural backgrounds change an individual's concept of color; in that study, the participants expressed the most positive opinions about the colors white, blue, and red [9]. In the present study, the colors blue and gray received the most favorable ratings and best evaluations, indicating that the participants had special perceptions of specific colors. ...
Colors and visual design are the main visual languages for expressing the emotions and content of a webpage. The layout of a webpage is crucial to website aesthetics and affects user preference. A webpage’s title, image, colors, and structure affects the design style of its visual interface. This study consisted of two experiments. Experiment 1 focused on the color emotional characteristics of multimedia webpage color combinations and identified the most popular dual-tone color designs for multimedia webpages. Experiment 2 involved an examination of the optimal visual effect design for multimedia webpage composition. Ten types of geometric shapes were selected and combined with dynamic pictures, and the combined products were then used to conduct a multimedia dynamic pictorial webpage experiment; the purpose of the experiment was to test the effects of geometrical dynamic shapes on webpage psychology and determine the most popular multimedia dynamic picture visual design style. The researchers used semantic differential and Likert scales to conduct psychological tests aimed at measuring psychological reactions to various webpage colors and visual designs. The results indicated that the most popular color combinations for multimedia webpages are cyan and gray, cyan and black, and blue violet and gray. The most suitable graphic shape for multimedia visual designs is the oval and square dynamic picture composition. The results of the multimedia webpage color and visual effect design experiments can serve as a reference for webpage design-related research and to webpage designers.
... According to Demir, Ü; 2020, colors categorized as warm (red and yellow) and cold (blue and green) and also influenced a person mood and emotions in differences of cold/warm properties. A person emotion changes according to the hypothesis that warm color that having long wavelength (red and yellow) on more positive effects than short wavelength (blue and green) (Chen Y, et al;2020). ...
... Color cues are also strongly associated with emotions [26][27][28]. For example, while bright colors were found to elicit positive emotions, dark colors were found to evoke negative emotions [26]. ...
Since rice is often cooked in many countries with different types of ingredients or seasonings, the surface colors of traditional rice meal items vary across cultural backgrounds. This study aimed to determine whether consumer perception, acceptance, willingness to eat, and emotional responses toward cooked rice samples could differ with their surface color cues. Milled rice was cooked with one of three food colorants: yellow, orange, and green, with milled (white) and un-milled (brown) rice cooked without colorants used as respective test and filler samples. Using a check-all-that-apply method, 98 rice consumers checked all aroma attributes they perceived by sniffing each of the four cooked-rice samples (white, yellow, orange, and green). They also rated the four samples with respect to attribute intensity, liking, emotional responses, and willingness to eat. The results showed that participants associated colored rice with specific ingredient-related aroma attributes (e.g., green color elicited sweet peas or spinach aromas). Color cues also affected ratings of attribute intensity, liking, willingness to eat, and emotional responses to cooked rice samples. In conclusion, this study provides empirical evidence that in the context of cooked rice consumption, color cues can elicit associated aromas and modulate consumer perception, acceptance, and evoked emotions to cooked rice.
INTRODUCTION . The perception of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19 through a color or coloristic metaphor by representatives of student youth is of particular linguistic interest. The aim of the study is to identify coronavirus color metaphors in student discourse, which are one of the most productive ways of associative transfer, based on deep, archetypal human relations with the world.
MATERIALS AND METHODS . The method of associative experiment is used to determine the color metaphors of the coronavirus. The results of the experiment are interpreted on the basis of a phenomenological approach using the method of questioning and quantitative analysis.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION . Metaphorical models with the source sphere “color” are revealed; the psychology of color in individual consciousness and its influence on the psychoemotional state of an individual in the post-pandemic period are comprehended; a classification of metaphors is proposed; the causes of the obtained color associations are analyzed.
CONCLUSION . It is revealed that spectral colors cause the most associations with coronavirus, the most popular among which are red, green and black. Most color associations are associated with cold colors that evoke, inspire and express sadness, sadness, despondency, and their various variations. The analysis of creative color names is carried out. The data obtained have theoretical and applied value, as they record attitudes and emotions regarding the general disaster after its expiration, thereby creating new meanings in the color designation and in the characterization of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19, contributing to the creation of a prosperous educational environment.
This work introduces a model to personalize ‘robjects’ - everyday objects with embedded robotic capabilities - using deep reinforcement learning (RL). The method creates user mood maps from emotional states and environmental conditions, allowing the robot to convey its status via light and movement. Two RL agents, with distinct reward systems, are deployed: The motor agent aligns the robot’s expression with the human emotion, while the light agent correlates with the robot’s expression adherence to the Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) scale. The learning process establishes a base model for real-world use, starting with synthetic interactions in simulation. This model underwent a 10-day experiment aimed at assessing the model’s reception and user experience. The model enabled continuous interaction; all participants reported a pleasant experience, expressing the desire to continue interacting with it. The robot’s adaptivity is highlighted by a mean Jensen-Shannon distance of 0.334 between user emotion and the robot expression distributions, showcasing a responsive, adaptive model.
We present an analysis of the representation of gender as a data dimension in data visualizations and propose a set of considerations around visual variables and annotations for gender-related data. Gender is a common demographic dimension of data collected from study or survey participants, passengers, or customers, as well as across academic studies, especially in certain disciplines like sociology. Our work contributes to multiple ongoing discussions on the ethical implications of data visualizations. By choosing specifc data, visual variables, and text labels, visualization designers may, inadvertently or not, perpetuate stereotypes and biases. Here, our goal is to start an evolving discussion on how to represent data on gender in data visualizations and raise awareness of the subtleties of choosing visual variables and words in gender visualizations. In order to ground this discussion, we collected and coded gender visualizations and their captions from fve different scientifc communities (Biology, Politics, Social Studies, Visualisation, and Human-Computer Interaction), in addition to images from Tableau Public and the Information Is Beautiful awards showcase. Overall we found that representation types are community-specifc, color hue is the dominant visual channel for gender data, and nonconforming gender is under-represented. We end our paper with a discussion of considerations for gender visualization derived from our coding and the literature and recommendations for large data collection bodies. A free copy of this paper and all supplemental materials are available at
https://osf.io/v9ams/
.
In recent years, communication robots are commonly used in various purposes and situations such as guidance services at hotels and stations, elderly support, etc. in Japan. However, it is also shown that people still have a sense of anxiety toward robots. For this reason, there are few people who have motivations to communicate with robots. On the other hand, it has been suggested that the emotion expression of robots contributes to create a sense of familiarity and smooth communication. Therefore, we propose a method of emotion expression and enhancement by changing the color of the clothes the robot is wearing. In this research, we have matched the clothes color with speech emotion for communication robot. As a result of the experiment, we found the matching between the clothes colors and 10 emotions (joy, anger, sorrow, fear, shame, like, dislike, excite, relief and surprise). Moreover, we obtained some problems about the method of changing clothes color according to the progress of the speech. Therefore, additional experiment is performed to solve these problems and to improve the method of changing clothes color. As a result of the additional experiment, we found the method of changing clothes color with reducing the unnaturalness and discomfort.KeywordsHuman-robot interactionNon-verbal informationClothes hueColor change methodSensory evaluation
In Germany, people with intellectual disabilities often live in total institutions. These are institutions where living places, employment, care, and pedagogical actions are combined and significantly impact residents’ quality of life and participation opportunities. This paper aims to analyze the influence of the residential living context on the digital participation opportunities of this group of people. Thus, two studies were conducted between 2018–2019. First is an interview study with 24 caregivers having management responsibility in their institution; second is a focus group study with 50 people with intellectual disabilities. Both studies contain essential findings about the current state of digital participation in the German welfare context. One crucial finding points out communication deficits in the institutions and existing knowledge gaps towards used devices and applications by people with intellectual disabilities. For example, the needs and wishes of people with intellectual disabilities were not recognized by caregivers, and the topic was not considered relevant to the institutions.Furthermore, people with intellectual disabilities complain about a lack of support from caregivers and the social environment. Caregivers, in turn, need more time and opportunities to address residents’ questions and problems. These tensions lead to different coping strategies described in more detail below. Furthermore, this paper presents strategies to combine the contrasting perspectives of involved people and makes suggestions for creating more digital participation opportunities in such institutions.KeywordsDigital InclusionIntellectual DisabilitiesTotal Institutions
Practices for using redundant text color in user interfaces vary. Some designers have carefully incorporated redundant coding in their design, while in other instances redundant coding is not utilized. There is a vast body of research on the effects of color on visual search. In this study we wanted to corroborate earlier findings in the current context. A simple recognition experiment was configured. The results agreed with the literature in that color has a significant effect on response time when the color is known, while it has no effect on recall. The results support the use of redundant color coding in interfaces, especially for time-critical applications where the user must act rapidly.Keywordsredundant color codingtext coloruser interface
The issues associated with remote work-life balance became apparent during the quarantine protocols that were put in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This led to additional stress associated with working from home when under quarantine. The start of the 2022–23 flu season saw the newly coined term tripledemic being used to describe the COVID-19, RSV and flu diseases affecting large portions of the population. This indicates there will always be a challenge to reduce the stressors associated with work-from-home arrangements – especially in households with at-risk family members. A possible solution to this problem is the use of robotic avatars, which is a “system that can transport your senses, actions and presence to a remote location in real time and feel as if you’re actually there.” Typical applications of robotic avatars include disaster relief in dangerous places; avatar tourism; remote teaching; remote collaborations and remote surgeries. This paper investigates the idea of a psychosocial robotic surrogate by using a companion robot to address issues that occur in psychosocial contexts. We address these psychosocial aspects of the human-robot relationship by having the companion robot act as a psychosocial surrogate instead of as a physical avatar. The paper discusses previous work on using avatars in social contexts; the architecture we have developed to facilitate psychosocial robotic surrogacy using a companion robot; and the results obtained so fare with the architecture.KeywordsPsychosocial robotsRobotic surrogatesSocial robot architectureHRI
In recent years, communication robots are commonly used in various purposes and situations such as guidance services at hotels and stations, elderly support, etc. in Japan. However, it is also shown that people still have a sense of anxiety toward robots. For this reason, there are few people who have motivations to communicate with robots. On the other hand, it has been suggested that the emotional expression of robots contributes to create a sense of familiarity and smooth communication. Therefore, we propose a method of emotional expression and enhancement by changing the color of the clothes the robot is wearing. In this research, we have matched the clothing color with speech emotion for communication robot. As a result of the experiment, we have found the matching between the clothing color and 10 emotions (joy, anger, sorrow, fear, shame, like, dislike, excite, relief and surprise).
The use of aggregate types obtained from glass wastes and construction wastes was investigated in mortar mixtures. The sound absorption coefficient, sound transmission loss, flexural strength, compressive strength, open porosity ratio, density, luminance factor, and the coefficient of water absorption tests were performed in this study. The mortar content modifications, which are listed as binder ratio, aggregate gradation type, aggregate type, and fiber ratio, were examined. The influences of the mortar content changes on the measurement results were investigated. It was intended to improve the acoustic performance in line with mixture content modification. It was observed that as the binder ratio increases, the sound insulation performance and compressive strength can increase remarkably, and the sound insulation performance can improve especially at high frequencies. However, when the binder ratio increases, the sound absorption performance, open porosity ratio, and coefficient of water absorption can decrease in general terms. It was observed that using a very small aggregate particle size range, or using a well-graded aggregate mixture type instead of a uniformly-graded aggregate mixture type can reduce sound absorption performance. It was determined that the sound insulation level can increase as the aggregate particle size decreases, and the use of a well-graded aggregate mixture type rather than a uniform-graded aggregate mixture type is a good method to enhance compressive and flexural strength. It was mentioned that the utilization of lightweight aggregate in the mortar content can improve the sound absorption performance and reduce the sound transmission loss, compressive strength, and flexural strength performances. It was defined that the utilization of basalt or glass fiber in the mortar content can enhance sound absorption performance at high frequencies, sound insulation performance, and coefficient of water absorption.
The fast-paced life of contemporary society increases people's psychological stress, and a piece of creative digital art may help relieve the stress. Color has a certain contribution to adjusting a person’s emotion. The interactivity and dynamics of digital art bring different experiences to our vision. This article was to present our work on the topic of whether different tones of still and dynamic digital art could make an impact on the emotion arousal. Over two experiments, 106 participants were invited to transfer the styles of 8 abstract images by adding blue and red tones. The dynamic creation processes were recorded to be used as stimuli, and three-dimensional valence-arousal-enjoyment model was used to measure emotions. The result of the experiment showed that adding different tones to digital art had no significant impact on the emotion arousal, however some participants expressed certain interests in the dynamic presentation of the creation process. The insights from this work could provide input to the design of digital art in emotion intervention and stress management.KeywordsEmotionDigital artColor toneInteractivity
Polysemy is a phenomenon peculiar to almost all languages. In each lexical unit, a certain thought is encoded, which can be deciphered only with the help of context. In this case, the external expression of the figurative content of the adjective denoting black is its unusual, non-standard compatibility with other words. When used with different nouns, a word can acquire different meanings that are unrelated to the color designation. The figurative determinant comes to life and makes the word semantically capacious, saturated with various overtones, sometimes even with the opposite meaning.Thus, the Kazakh language is characterized by neoplasms based on the active use of words with the meaning of the color "kara" (black). The symbolism of black color in the Kazakh language finds correspondence with both negative connotations – evil, darkness, grief, lies, difficulties, treachery, betrayal, and with positive ones – goodness, solidity, stability, power, strength, expressive beauty. The symbolism of black is very nuanced in many languages.The article shows how in the educational process of a pedagogical university, during the teaching of philological disciplines, the subject of the polysemy of the adjective "black" can be used. The authors give examples from phraseology, onomastics, poetry and prose in Kazakh, Russian, German and English.
An experiment based on physiological parameters and subjective emotional changes is designed to analyze the sound‐light fusion effects. The different effects caused by music in major and minor keys is studied. Three colorful lighting with main wavelength at 623, 537, 445 nm, respectively, as well as two white lighting with 3000 K CCT and 6000 K CCT are evaluated in the same process. Results show that the physiological response to music is stronger than that of the lighting stimulus. Music plays a major role in the sound‐light fusion environment, and the physiological perception under dual‐factor stimulation is stronger than that of single factor. Moreover, music and light interact with each other when they stimulate emotions at the same time. The superposition of two positively related factors can strengthen the effects on emotion. The studies may give suggestions to the designers when they design a lighting show with music or an immersive and interactive lighting project.
The research on citizens' color preference is an important prerequisite for the scientific formulation of urban color planning. Color preferences are normally identified over the Internet or through questionnaire surveys and adjective descriptions. But the analysis has its limitations due to the uncertainty of color descriptions. Based on the quantitative analysis of the three attributes of hue, blackness, and chromaticness, this article obtains the inherent law of color preference of citizens, and compares it with the results of color adjective preference done by our research group before, which can supplement the accuracy of adjective description, so as to provide a reference for the color positioning of urban color planning. This article obtains the three attributes of color samples chosen by the public in the form of questionnaires as well as color sample selections. Among which 36 representative sites in Shanghai were selected according to the six types of land use. Adopting a more detailed method of dividing nine color series, viz. yellow (Y), red‐yellow (YR), red (R), red‐blue (RB), blue (B), blue‐green (BG), green (G), green‐yellow (GY), and the neutrals (WS). Moreover, chi‐square test and multiple logistic regression model were used to analyze the color preference factors and explore the relationship between citizen attributes and the three attributes of color sample selection. Research findings are as follows: (a) The citizens' favorite colors of urban architecture center round red, high whiteness, and mid‐low chromaticness. (b) The main factors that influence citizens' hue preference include gender, age, and monthly income; the main factors that influence citizens' blackness preference include: questionnaire distribution points, the frequency of coming to Shanghai, and whether to go abroad; gender and age are the main factors that affect citizens' chromaticness preference. (c) Compared with the previous studies on adjective selection among citizens, it is found that the effect of gender, age, monthly income, and educational background on color preference is similar; differences are in the occupational types, frequency of coming to Shanghai, and whether travels abroad.
Color in traditional decorative patterns is one of the most important characteristics that can not only be easily identified, but also be taken as a specific symbol of one country or nation. As most of the traditional color schemes are based on ancient aesthetics and wisdom, in order to make them more in line with the aesthetic cognition of modern consumers, an innovation of traditional color schemes is very necessary. This article conducted an experiment to test modern consumers' psychological perception towards different traditional color combinations based on PAD three‐dimensional model and SAM measurement scale. Then the computer image recognition technology and mathematical modeling were applied to establish the relationship between different psychological perceptions and traditional color schemes to guide further design. It was found that some colors have a positive effect on consumers' preference, while some others can reduce consumers' preference; certain color combinations convey feelings of joy or warmth; the appropriate use of high saturation and moderate value colors have more attractions for consumers. Based on the results, new combination schemes for traditional colors were presented, so as to realize the creative design of traditional colors based on the psychological perception of modern consumers.
Colours have much impact on users-either positively or negatively-when they are used for fashion objects. This paper is purposed to identify major ways in which fashion designers in tertiary institutions within Kumasi metropolis use colours for their fashion objects and the effects of the colours on their clients. Qualitative research approach was employed for this research. Specifically, the descriptive research method was adopted for the study. One hundred and fifty (150) respondents with fashion design and textiles background from three public tertiary institutions offering fashion design and textiles as programme of study in the Kumasi metropolis of Ashanti region, were purposively sampled for the study. Identification, beautification and communication, constituting 92.0%, 84.7% and 84.7% respectively of the 150 respondents, ranked as the top three purposes for which people use colours in fashion goods. Interior decoration, communication, designing textiles and enhancement of the aesthetic appeal of clothes, representing 100%, 92.7%, 92.7% and 92.7% respectively were found to be the highest positive impact of colour in fashion. In the study, 85.3% of the respondents stated that some colours cause people to have low self-esteem while 62.0% of them said some colours cause people to feel lazy. It is recommended that people should select colours wisely to enhance their images.
Strong associations exist between colours and concepts or words. Understanding these associations, sometimes referred to as colour emotions, is important for effective use of colour in art and design. Traditionally the relationships have been systematically explored in experiments where participants scale colours according to bipolar adjectives such as warm‐cool. In this article, a method for exploring the relationships between words and colours is suggested and is demonstrated. A psychophysical experiment is described where participants select colours based on words. The data are used to show that many similarities between the word‐colour relationships for UK and Chinese participants although some interesting differences are also revealed. The method makes explicit the observation that there is not a one‐to‐one relationship between words and colours. The method could be used to explore word‐colour relationship for specific words and participant groups or could be used to generate ground‐truth data for testing methods for automatically generating the word‐colour relationships.
The relationship between color psychology and consumer behavior is at the centre of most marketing activities in the business environment. Empirical and theoretical literature asserts that color psychology is instrumental in determining the effectiveness of marketing activities, particularly when properly integrated in the organization's manufacturing and distribution strategies. There are different interpretations of color as determined by consumers' beliefs, culture, and attitudes. The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between color psychology and consumer buying behavior within the apparel market. The apparel market was chosen due its distinctive cultural dynamics and consumer psychological beliefs compared to other markets. There has been an increase in consumer buying behavior variations across the globe as a result of varying interpretations of marketing mix elements. The article submits that color psychology is one of the main features that determine consumer behavior in the apparel market. Data was collected through secondary sources such as journals, articles, and empirical sources such as existing researches regarding color psychology, consumer behavior regarding product color, and cultural perceptions on color within the apparel industry. Color psychology plays a bigger role in effecting emotional and intellectual influence among consumers. Color perception and color psychology affects people's behavior in such a way that the symbolism of the colors resonates with people's perceptions, hence linking it with information from their cultures. Through the color perception of different cultures, the research concluded that using a color that is associated with something negative will negatively affect the customers' retrieval cues, therefore repelling them from purchasing the product or service.
Do English-speakers think about anger as “red” and sadness as “blue”? Some theories of emotion suggests that color(s)—like other biologically-derived signals- should be reliably paired with an emotion, and that colors should differentiate across emotions. We assessed consistency and specificity for color-emotion pairings among English-speaking adults. In study 1, participants (n = 73) completed an online survey in which they could select up to three colors from 23 colored swatches (varying hue, saturation, and light) for each of ten emotion words. In study 2, different participants (n = 52) completed a similar online survey except that we added additional emotions and colors (which better sampled color space). Participants in both studies indicated the strength of the relationship between a selected color(s) and the emotion. In study 1, four of the ten emotions showed consistency, and about one-third of the colors showed specificity, yet agreement was low-to-moderate among raters even in these cases. When we resampled our data, however, none of these effects were likely to replicate with statistical confidence. In study 2, only two of 20 emotions showed consistency, and three colors showed specificity. As with the first study, no color-emotion pairings were both specific and consistent. In addition, in study 2, we found that saturation and lightness, and to a lesser extent hue, predicted color-emotion agreement rather than perceived color. The results suggest that previous studies which report emotion-color pairings are likely best thought of experiment-specific. The results are discussed with respect to constructionist theories of emotion.
In 2015, a picture of a Dress (henceforth the Dress) triggered popular and scientific interest; some reported seeing the Dress in white and gold (W&G) and others in blue and black (B&B). We aimed to describe the phenomenon and investigate the role of contextualization. Few days after the Dress had appeared on the Internet, we projected it to 240 students on two large screens in the classroom. Participants reported seeing the Dress in B&B (48%), W&G (38%), or blue and brown (B&Br; 7%). Amongst numerous socio-demographic variables, we only observed that W&G viewers were most likely to have always seen the Dress as W&G. In the laboratory, we tested how much contextual information is necessary for the phenomenon to occur. Fifty-seven participants selected colours most precisely matching predominant colours of parts or the full Dress. We presented, in this order, small squares (a), vertical strips (b), and the full Dress (c). We found that (1) B&B, B&Br, and W&G viewers had selected colours differing in lightness and chroma levels for contextualized images only (b, c conditions) and hue for fully contextualized condition only (c) and (2) B&B viewers selected colours most closely matching displayed colours of the Dress. Thus, the Dress phenomenon emerges due to inter-individual differences in subjectively perceived lightness, chroma, and hue, at least when all aspects of the picture need to be integrated. Our results support the previous conclusions that contextual information is key to colour perception; it should be important to understand how this actually happens.
Colours carry social connotations like pink for girls and blue for boys. In a cross-sectional study, we investigated whether such early gender coding might be reflected in absolute colour preferences in children and adults of both genders. In two studies, participants selected their favourite (and least favourite, Study 2) colour from an unrestricted sample of colours. We tested 129 Swiss children (Study 1, 10–14 years-old, 68 boys) and 180 Swiss adults (Study 2, 17–48 years-old, 88 men). In children, we observed that girls chose pink/purple as their favourite hue more often than boys did, the most common favourite hue in girls and boys was blue, and boys chose red as their favourite more often than girls did. In adults, we observed that both genders almost never choose pink as their favourite, blue was a common favourite colour, and women were more likely to favour red than were men. In an additional study (n = 183 Swiss participants, 47 men), we tested whether liking of pink, blue, and red was related to emotion associations with these colours. Pink was associated with positive emotions to the same extent as blue and red. Women further associated more positive emotions with pink than did men. We conclude that some commonalities (blue) and gender differences (pink and red) exist in absolute colour preferences. These differences, however, cannot be fully accounted by emotional associations. We speculate about these gendered colour preferences in relation to gender stereotypes and status differences between men and women.
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The present study investigates the hypothesis that brightness of colors is associated with positivity, postulating that this is an automatic and universal effect. The Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) was used in all studies. Study 1 used color patches varying on brightness, Study 2 used achromatic stimuli to eliminate the potential confounding effects of hue and saturation. Study 3 replicated Study 2 in a different cultural context (Japan vs. Austria), both studies also included a measure of explicit association. All studies confirmed the hypothesis that brightness is associated with positivity, at a significance level of p < .001 and Cohen's D varying from 0.90 to 3.99. Study 1-3 provided support for the notion that this is an automatic effect. Additionally, Study 2 and Study 3 showed that people also have an explicit association of brightness with positivity. However, as expected, our results also show that the implicit association was stronger than the explicit association. Study 3 shows clear support for the universality of our effects. In sum, our results support the idea that brightness is associated with positivity and that these associations are automatic and universal.
Previous studies on emotional effects of color often failed to control all the three perceptual dimensions of color: hue, saturation, and brightness. Here, we presented a three-dimensional space of chromatic colors by independently varying hue (blue, green, red), saturation (low, medium, high), and brightness (dark, medium, bright) in a factorial design. The 27 chromatic colors, plus 3 brightness-matched achromatic colors, were presented via an LED display. Participants (N = 62) viewed each color for 30 s and then rated their current emotional state (valence and arousal). Skin conductance and heart rate were measured continuously. The emotion ratings showed that saturated and bright colors were associated with higher arousal. The hue also had a significant effect on arousal, which increased from blue and green to red. The ratings of valence were the highest for saturated and bright colors, and also depended on the hue. Several interaction effects of the three color dimensions were observed for both arousal and valence. For instance, the valence ratings were higher for blue than for the remaining hues, but only for highly saturated colors. Saturated and bright colors caused significantly stronger skin conductance responses. Achromatic colors resulted in a short-term deceleration in the heart rate, while chromatic colors caused an acceleration. The results confirm that color stimuli have effects on the emotional state of the observer. These effects are not only determined by the hue of a color, as is often assumed, but by all the three color dimensions as well as their interactions.
This research aims to discover the psychological effects of colors on individuals, using the students’ union complex in a university campus. This building was chosen due to its richness in color variances. The research method is survey, and questionnaires were drawn up and distributed to an even range of students, comprising both international and local students; undergraduate and graduate. Questionnaires have been collected and analyzed to find out the effects different colors had on students’ moods in different spaces of the students’ union complex. This research would contribute to understand more about colors and how they affect our feelings and therefore to make better decisions and increase the use of spaces when choosing colors for different spaces to suit the purpose for which they are designed.
Online trust is considered as a critical factor in online shopping, especially when dealing with unfamiliar vendors. This research provides empirical findings from an experimental investigation of the influence of website emotional design features, visual appeal and ease of use on users' perceptions of usefulness, trust, as well as intention to use websites. The proposed research model was developed based on theories in the human-computer interaction and Information Systems domains. An experiment was conducted using a hypothetical website with four conditions of treatment manipulation. The study revealed that visual appeal can produce a greater influence on customers’ evaluation of trust, than ease of use. It was also found that both visual appeal and ease of use are contributing factors in developing online trust among male customers, with visual appeal dominating trust formation among female customers.
The association of colour with emotion constitutes a growing field of research, as it can affect how humans process their environment. Although there has been increasing interest in the association of red with negative valence in adults, little is known about how it develops. We therefore tested the red-negative association in children for the first time. Children aged 5-10 years performed a face categorization task in the form of a card-sorting task. They had to judge whether ambiguous faces shown against three different colour backgrounds (red, grey, green) seemed to 'feel good' or 'feel bad'. Results of logistic mixed models showed that - as previously demonstrated in adults - children across the age range provided significantly more 'feel bad' responses when the faces were given a red background. This finding is discussed in relation to colour-emotion association theories.
The presence and intensity of red coloration correlate with male dominance and testosterone in a variety of animal species, and even artificial red stimuli can influence dominance interactions. In humans, red stimuli are perceived as more threatening and dominant than other colours, and wearing red increases the probability of winning sporting contests. We investigated whether red clothing biases the perception of aggression and dominance outside of competitive settings, and whether red influences decoding of emotional expressions. Participants rated digitally manipulated images of men for aggression and dominance and categorized the emotional state of these stimuli. Men were rated as more aggressive and more dominant when presented in red than when presented in either blue or grey. The effect on perceived aggression was found for male and female raters, but only male raters were sensitive to red as a signal of dominance. In a categorization test, images were significantly more often categorized as 'angry' when presented in the red condition, demonstrating that colour stimuli affect perceptions of emotions. This suggests that the colour red may be a cue used to predict propensity for dominance and aggression in human males.
© 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.
We extend research testing the effects of food color on flavor to a new cultural setting—India. We test color’s effect at three levels: flavor identification, perception, and preference. One hundred twenty-two graduate students at an Indian business school enrolling students from all parts of India were assigned the task of tasting and evaluating an orange-flavored carbonated water. Color at two levels (purple and orange) and label information at two levels (told orange flavor, told grape) were manipulated in a full factorial, between-subjects design. Results confirm that food color affects the consumer’s ability to correctly identify flavor as well as to form distinct flavor profiles and preferences. Food color dominates other flavor information including labeling and taste, though the strength of the effect is less pronounced in this setting. Strategic alternatives for the effective deployment of food color for promotional purposes are recommended.
Aesthetic choices: who do you please? The public servi ces are there to serve the interests of the publi c in a general sense. An interesting issue arises when it comes to meeting people s aesthetic tastes. Is there a universal nor m of good ta ste, or doe s ta ste , li ke b eau ty, l ie i n th e eye of t he b eho lde r? Mo re spec ifi cal ly, do men and women s taste converge, or do they differ? The politically correct response would be that they converge. At least in the Anglo-American, Anglo-Saxon tradition. Here the pervasive paradigm is one that eschews notions of sex difference, focusing instead on a social constructionist analysis of the institutions of cultural productions. A discussion of sex differences in this tradition is brandished essentialist , a term with derisive overtones. In parts of continental Europe and Canada, however, essentialist discussion can find a place in the academe. Gilligan s work on differences between male and female approaches to ethics is a case in point. The politically incorrect response, then, would be to say that men and women s responses diverge. This is in fact the conclusion the present author has reached on the basis of her research.
Research using participant's self-reports has documented a link between red and danger. In this research, we used two different variants of a Stroop word evaluation task to test for the possibility of an implicit red-danger association using carefully controlled colour stimuli (equated on lightness and chroma). Experiment 1, using words as stimuli, yielded strong evidence of a link between red and danger, and weaker evidence of a green-safety association. Experiment 2, using symbols as stimuli, again yielded strong evidence of a link between red and danger; no green effects were observed. The findings were discussed in terms of the power and promise of red in signal communication.
One of the challenges today in human–computer interaction is to design systems that are not only usable but also appealing to users. In order to contribute to meet this challenge, our general objective in the present study was to enhance current understanding of the perceptual features that favour users’ interactions with Websites. This is a particularly important issue, as users’ first impressions when they land on a site determine whether or not they stay on it. We conducted two experimental studies, focusing on one specific perceptual feature: Website colour. The first study investigated designers’ and users’ preferred colours for a Web homepage. Although researchers generally flag up differences between designers and users, we found that the latter also had several favourite colours in common. On the basis of these initial results, three colours were selected for a second study exploring colour in relation to an entire Website. The main originality of this second study lays in the fact that we used both subjective and objective measurements to gauge the impact of colour, analyzing not only users’ judgments but also their Website navigation and the items of information they memorized. Results of this second study showed that colours were a determining factor in the way that users interacted with the Website. Their influence was also observed afterwards, when users were asked to exploit the information they had gleaned from the Website. As such, these findings will have a practical value for Website designers.
The present study was undertaken to verify findings surrounding sex differences in color preferences, and to extend this realm of inquiry by looking for possible differences in color preferences associated with sexual orientation. Based on a large sample of North American college students, significant gender differences were found, with the main difference being a greater preference for shades of blue by males than by females. Females, on the other hand, tended to be more evenly divided than males between preferring both green and blue. Regarding sexual orientation, we found no significant differences between heterosexuals and homosexual/bisexuals of either gender. In other words, male and female homosexuals/bisexuals exhibited essentially the same configuration of color preferences as did their heterosexual counterparts.
Can multimedia learning environments be designed to foster positive emotions that will improve learning and related affective outcomes? College students (N = 118) were randomly assigned to 4 conditions created by 2 factors related to learners' emotion: external mood induction (positive vs. neutral emotions) and emotional design induction (positive vs. neutral emotions). A computer-based lesson on the topic of immunization was used as multimedia learning material. Results indicate that applying emotional design principles to learning materials can induce positive emotions and that positive emotions in multimedia-based learning facilitate cognitive processes and learning. Controlling for the germane load of the materials, the internal induction of positive emotions through design of the materials increased comprehension and transfer, whereas the external induction of positive emotions through mood induction enhanced transfer but not comprehension. Positive emotions induced through mood induction significantly increased the amount of learners' reported mental effort, whereas positive emotional design reduced the perceived difficulty of the learning task. Positive emotions increased motivation, satisfaction, and perception toward the materials. Mediation analyses suggest that the effect of positive emotions induced externally was mediated by both motivation and mental effort but found no mediators for emotion induced via emotional design, suggesting that positive emotional design has a more direct impact on learning than externally induced emotions. The study suggests that emotions should be considered an important factor in the design of multimedia learning materials. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Typically, the research on the connotations of colors has presented isolated color samples to the participants, and/or restricted their responses to a limited set of alternatives (e.g., basic emotions). In the present study, the participants were asked to imagine their own examples of the target colors, thereby allowing the participants to select their own salient examples, including the context. In addition, a qualitative method, the semi-structured interview, was employed, giving them freedom to choose their own terms of description, and also identify issues which they themselves regarded as relevant. To a large extent, the results were consistent with previous research about the emotional significance and arousing effects of different colors. But this alternative approach also threw light upon more subtle connotations of colors, the multiple meanings of a single color, and also the participants' reasons for these connotations, ranging from individual experiences to cultural conventions and stereotypes. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 33, 406–410, 2008
Rising levels of advertising competition have made it increasingly difficult to attract and hold consumers' attention and to establish strong memory traces for the advertised brand. A common communication strategy to break through this competitive clutter is to increase ad originality. However, ad originality may have detrimental effects when consumers pay more attention to the ad at the expense of the advertised brand. Moreover, the positive effects of originality may quickly wane when the ad becomes familiar. Surprisingly, no research to date has examined such brand attention and memory effects of ad originality and familiarity. The current study aims to fill this void. We use a stochastic model of the influence that ad originality and familiarity have on consumers' eye fixations to the key elements of advertisements---brand, text, and pictorial---and how the information extracted during eye fixations promotes memory for the advertised brand. The model explicitly accounts for heterogeneity due to consumers and advertisements. Infrared eye tracking was applied to collect eye fixation data from 119 consumers who paged through two general-audience magazines containing 58 full-page advertisements. Memory for the advertised brands was assessed with an indirect memory task. The model was estimated using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. In support of our hypotheses, original advertisements drew more attention to the advertised brand. More importantly however, advertisements that were both original and familiar attracted the largest amount of attention to the advertised brand, which improved subsequent brand memory. In addition, original and familiar ads were found to promote brand memory directly. Implications of these findings for communication and media planning strategy are discussed.
With the progress of science and technology, computer peripheral products are constantly evolving. The use of touch rather than mouse operation in mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones has gained popularity because of its convenience for browsing the Internet and using apps or communication software. However, the mouse remains an essential piece of equipment for using computer software to design products and playing computer games. Wireless mice were the subject of this study, which investigated the optimal size, color, and packaging style for various mouse products. First, this study involved assessment and comparison of the sizes of commercially available wireless mice. Five sizes of mouse were selected. We then designed experiments, and participants performed tasks and completed questionnaires. The results were collected and analyzed to select the optimum product size for users. The study examined the user's psychological and emotional responses to mouse color. By conducting semantic differential analysis, 16 colors were selected for psychological testing, and the results were analyzed to identify the most suitable color. Finally, we investigated the optimal packaging styles for mouse products. In the experiment, eight styles were combined with 10 colors to produce 80 packaging styles. We use the Likert scale to collect data. The results show that the black mouse and the size of 64.5 × 95 × 35 mm3 are the most popular.
Popular opinion holds that color has specific affective meaning. Brighter, more chromatic, and warm colors were conceptually linked to positive stimuli and darker, less chromatic, and cool colors to negative stimuli. Whether such systematic color associations exist with actually felt mood remains to be tested. We experimentally induced four moods—joy, relaxation, fear, and sadness—in a between-subject design (N = 96). Subsequently, we asked participants to select a color, from an unrestricted sample, best representing their current mood. Color choices differed between moods on hue, lightness, and chroma. Yellow hues were systematically associated with joy while yellow-green hues with relaxation. Lighter colors were matched to joy and relaxation (positive moods) than fear and sadness (negative moods). Most chromatic colors were matched to joy, then relaxation, fear, and sadness. We conclude that color choices represent felt mood to some extent, after accounting for a relatively low specificity for color-mood associations.
Popular opinions link colours and emotions. Yet, affective connotations of colours are heterogeneous (for example, red represents anger and love) partly because they relate to different contexts. Despite insufficient evidence, colours are used in applied settings (health, marketing, and others) for their supposed effects on cognitive and affective functioning. Summarizing the literature, we recommend systematic research to investigate when and how colours link with affective phenomena. We need to: (1) distinguish between situations in which colours are either physically shown or linguistically treated; (2) specify types of affective processes (for example, emotion, mood, preference); and (3) investigate cross-cultural differences. Having these needs in mind, we initiated an international online survey on semantic colour-emotion associations. We outline theoretical considerations and present the survey’s design.
Emotions are often associated with colors, but what mediates color–emotion associations is not fully understood. This study examined associations between colors and emotions using correspondence analysis. The hypothesis that emotions are associated with colors through the correspondence between the hue circle and the circumplex model of emotion/affect was tested. Participants viewed 40 colors and reported a word that expressed an emotion that they associated with or felt in response to each color. Participants' responses were aggregated into a contingency table of colors and emotion words, and a correspondence analysis was conducted. An eight-dimensional biplot was obtained. The first and second dimensions were related to hue, and the hue configuration was similar to colors' spectral trajectory in the CIE xy space or the CIELAB a*b* color space. The configuration of emotions was not consistent with the circumplex model of emotion, which rejected the above hypothesis. The associations in dimensions 1 and 2 appeared to be mediated by the perceived temperature of colors and emotions. In dimensions 3–6, dimensions that seemed to reflect secondary associations based on cultural convention or personal experiences (such as white with emotionless and purity and blue with depression) were obtained. These results also demonstrated the usefulness of correspondence analysis for analyzing color–emotion associations due to its ability to reveal the underlying statistical structure of associations.
This research examined the male and female novice designers toward color associations for the concepts used for ‘warnings’, ‘action required’, and ‘signs and equipment status’ through a questionnaire-based study. A total of 178 Hong Kong Chinese final year undergraduate design students (89 males and 89 females) participated in the study. The test used required the participants to indicate their choice of one of nine colors to associations with each of 38 concepts in a color-concept table, so that any one color could be associated with any one of the concepts. For both male and female groups of novice designers, chi-square tests revealed a strong color association for each concept tested in this study (P < .05). The results showed males and females agreed on some color-concept association stereotypes which were therefore gender neutral. The male and female novice designers had the same color associations and similar levels of stereotype strengths for 21 concepts. The nine strongest and therefore most useful color-concept association stereotypes for both male and female novice designers were: red-danger, red-fire, red-hot, red-stop, red-emergency, red-error, blue-cold, blue-male, and green-exit. However, the male and female novice designers had different color association stereotypes for the standby (green vs. yellow), emergency exit (green vs. red), and toxic (purple vs. black) concepts, and the strengths of the 14 remaining associations for both groups were not at equivalent levels. Overall, it is anticipated that the findings of this study will act as a useful reference for novice designers and other design practitioners to optimize color coding in the design of ‘warnings’, ‘action required’, and ‘signs and equipment status’ messages.
Based on a psychophysical experiment, this study aimed to investigate factors that influenced color emotion and color preference, as well as the correlations between color emotion and color preference. Some color chips of Munsell color order system were picked out to supply actual patterns with different sets to evaluate the factors of hue, chroma, lightness, then they were pasted at a baseplate with black and white backgrounds respectively to involve the influences of backgrounds. Thus, in total 6 groups of color patches were prepared, and 18 attributes were chosen for visual assessment, including 16 words to describe color emotion, together with 2 color preference descriptions, so that massive data of observers’ judgments were gathered. Afterwards, a quantitative analysis and a detailed discussion were carried out for each attribute. Moreover, the calculation of Pearson correlation coefficients indicated that backgrounds could influence the perception of color emotion and color preference in a certain degree, and hue played a more important role than chroma and lightness. Further factor analysis revealed that color emotions do not exist in an isolated manner, and color preference could be represented in three orthogonal dimensions.
One of the challenges today in human-computer interaction is to design user interfaces that are not only appealing to users but also efficiency. Our general objective in this present study was to investigate the effects of the icon density, color contrast and luminance difference on the interaction between users and user interfaces. We conducted two experimental studies, focusing on one specific perceptual feature: user interface design. The first study investigated the effects of the icon density on users’ visual identification. Based on the results of the study, we believed that the number of the icons should not be more than 25 in one area, and for small number of the icons, the inter-element spacing should be more than 1/2 icon, which would make users easier to identify them. The second study investigated the effects of chromaticity contrast and luminance contrast on icon perception. Based on the results, we proposed that high color contrast could enhance the efficiency of icon identification and the value of icon-background Michelson contrast should be more than 0.3, but less than 0.5.
Interpersonal trust and reciprocation are crucial factors in peer-to-peer online interactions. In order to
shed more light on the association of user interface (UI) design and trusting as well as reciprocating
behavior, we consider a computerized trust game with different interface background colors, red and blue,
namely. We locate our work within recent NeuroIS theory, linking UI background color to user behavior
via perceived warmth of UIs and color appeal. The results of a laboratory experiment indicate an
enhancing effect of red interfaces on reciprocation behavior, fully mediated by perceived warmth. We
suggest to further investigate this phenomenon by applying NeuroIS methodology.
The paper aims to examine children's preference of visual appearance and parents' attitudes towards assistive robots. Results show that children do prefer visual appearances of robots with round and smooth edges, compact and stocky body and with feminine characteristics. Gender differences have been found in robot sketch preference, as well as in ascribing gender to robots - boys tend to be more gender-typed. The dominant colour preffered for the robot is blue, which is a colour associated with positive emotional states, trust, and stability. Based on the results, the paper provides general suggestions and guidelines for creating a robot that the children would find likable. Parents have shown more positive than negative attitudes towards robots in general, as well as towards robots in the children's therapy. Gender differences have been found in potentially negative aspects of child-robot interaction, with mothers more concerned about negative consequences. Also, differences in educational levels have been found, with parents of higher educational level showing more positive attitudes towards robots.
This article investigates if and how the valence of color cues affects moral acceptability of (un)desirable consumer behaviors. Study 1 uses colors with definite differences in terms of valence, namely, red and green. Study 2 applies an evaluative conditioning paradigm to endow initially neutral colors with negative versus positive valences. We find an ironic color effect: undesirable behaviors become more acceptable when presented with negatively valenced colors. In general, respondents find (un)desirable behaviors more acceptable when a background color is of the same valence rather than neutral or opposite in valence. Implications for promotion and prevention campaigns are discussed.
The authors investigate the effect of red backgrounds on willingness-to-pay in auctions and negotiations. Data from eBay auctions and the lab show that a red (vs. blue) background elicits higher bid jumps. By contrast, red (vs. blue) backgrounds decrease price offers in negotiations. An investigation of the underlying process reveals that red color induces aggression through arousal. In addition, the selling mechanism—auction or negotiation—alters the effect of color by focusing individuals on primarily competing against other bidders (in auctions) or against the seller (in negotiations). Specifically, aggression is higher with red (vs. blue or gray) color and, therefore, increases bid jumps in auctions but decreases offers in negotiations.
We examine design factors that may evoke positive emotions in learners and investigate the effects of these positive emotions on learning. Recent research showed that the emotional design of multimedia learning material can induce positive emotions in learners that in turn facilitate comprehension and transfer. We sought to replicate these results with a different population and different mood induction procedure and examine individual emotions, and to decompose the effects of the design elements of color and shape. Study 1 showed that well-designed materials induced positive emotions and facilitated comprehension, though transfer performance was not affected by emotional design. Study 2 found that round face-like shapes both alone and in conjunction with warm color induced positive emotions. Warm colors alone, however, did not affect learners' emotions. Comprehension was facilitated by warm colors and round face-like shapes, independently as well as together. Transfer was facilitated by round face-like shapes when used with neutral colors.
Colors have always played a significant role in impacting one's moods, emotions, feelings, sensations and perception and seem to offer possibilities for multifaceted interpretation rather than leaving room for only one way of looking at it. Different signs merge in a person's experience of a product as colors do not function separately and individually, but from multi-layered references and can influence consumers' purchase decision, how they see things, their emotions, choices and thus are integral to the realm of advertising and marketing. Furthermore the perception and application of color is strongly influenced by ones innate physiological and psychological predisposition, personal experiences, age, gender, personality, income, ethnographic and demographic factors that makes its application effective within the domain of marketing all the more cumbersome and challenging. However, as a marketing tool, color can be a sublimely persuasive force; and as a functional component of human vision, color can capture attention, relax or irritate the eyes, and affect the legibility of the text and - All things put together, the right colors empower and contribute to the success of an advertising campaign, a product, a service, or even an interior space and in contrast wrong colors can be a costly mistake.
The present paper attempts to highlight and discuss the following research questions:
1. What is the significance and importance of colors in daily life (with special reference to marketing)? 2. How colors act as a medium in influencing the psychology of customers, contributing towards their branding, advertising, marketing and sale, based on a comprehensive review of literature and some noted case studies?
Color is an integral part of products, services, packaging, logos, and other collateral and can be an effective means of creating and sustaining brand and corporate images in customers' minds. Through an eight-country study, the authors explore consumers' preferences for different colors and color combinations. The results show cross-cultural patterns of both similarity and dissimilarity in color preferences and color meaning associations. When subjects are asked to match colors for a product logo, some color combinations suggest a consistency in meaning, whereas other combinations suggest colors whose meanings are complementary. The authors discuss implications for managing color to create and sustain brand and corporate images across international markets.
This paper presents a study where (1) task gender orientation perceptions of novice designers, and (2) reasons underlying the perceived gender orientation were studied. Data collection included both quantitative and qualitative methods. Results indicate that indeed, design tasks may be seen as having a gender orientation due to perceptions regarding the design task domain. Further, if a task domain is deemed as favoring a gender, the reasons for doing so are related to the gender associations of institutions, objects, actions, and related knowledge. In terms of implications for future research, the current study suggests that the gender orientation of tasks can vary considerably and should be controlled for or taken into account when interpreting design performance results. In terms of implications for engineering design teaching, it is recommended that careful attention be given to the selection of applied projects in order to avoid domains with strong masculine or feminine overtones. Instead, the design problem should be framed to be gender neutral.
Color is a ubiquitous perceptual stimulus that is often considered in terms of aesthetics. Here we review theoretical and empirical work that looks beyond color aesthetics to the link between color and psychological functioning in humans. We begin by setting a historical context for research in this area, particularly highlighting methodological issues that hampered earlier empirical work. We proceed to overview theoretical and methodological advances during the past decade and conduct a review of emerging empirical findings. Our empirical review focuses especially on color in achievement and affiliation/attraction contexts, but it also covers work on consumer behavior as well as food and beverage evaluation and consumption. The review clearly shows that color can carry important meaning and can have an important impact on people's affect, cognition, and behavior. The literature remains at a nascent stage of development, however, and we note that considerable work on boundary conditions, moderators, and real-world generalizability is needed before strong conceptual statements and recommendations for application are warranted. We provide suggestions for future research and conclude by emphasizing the broad promise of research in this area. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology Volume 65 is January 03, 2014. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/catalog/pubdates.aspx for revised estimates.
The Lüscher colour test is used to compare colour
associations in China, South Korea, Japan and the United States.
Respondents were asked which colour they associate with words such as
expensive, happy, love and dependable. They were also asked to relate
the colours to countries, such as Italy and France; institutions, such
as restaurants and theatres; and product packages, such as a soft drink
label and a box of headache remedy. The findings show that, while some
colours seem to show cross-cultural consistency, other colours, such as
purple and grey, hold opposite meanings in different cultures.
In 2000, Jakob Nielsen, the world's leading expert on Web usability, published a book that changed how people think about the Web-Designing Web Usability (New Riders). Many applauded. A few jeered. But everyone listened. The best-selling usability guru is back and has revisited his classic guide, joined forces with Web usability consultant Hoa Loranger, and created an updated companion book that covers the essential changes to the Web and usability today. Prioritizing Web Usability is the guide for anyone who wants to take their Web site(s) to next level and make usability a priority! Through the authors' wisdom, experience, and hundreds of real-world user tests and contemporary Web site critiques, you'll learn about site design, user experience and usability testing, navigation and search capabilities, old guidelines and prioritizing usability issues, page design and layout, content design, and more!
A study was done to investigate preference responses for foreground–background color relationships. To do this, 123 university undergraduates in Ankara, Turkey, were asked to view eight background colors selected from HSB color space on which color squares of differing hues, saturations, and brightnesses were presented. Subjects were asked to show the color square they preferred on the presented background color. Findings showed that colors having maximum saturation and brightness were most preferred. Blue was the most preferred hue regardless of background. The findings for preferences for foreground–background color relationships are also included in this article. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 27, 199–207, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/col.10051
The results of three surveys are presented. The first survey was carried out in four large cities in Japan, and the findings were analyzed by factor analysis and cluster analysis. The second survey was carried out in Seoul, Korea and Tokyo, Japan to determine color preference in the two countries, focusing on the preference for white. The last survey compared color preference in Taipei and Tokyo, also with emphasis on the preference for white. In these successive studies on color preference in Japan and other Asian cities, the subjects were mainly asked to choose from a color chart the three colors they liked most and the three they liked least, and to state the reasons for their choices. The results of Survey 1 showed that color preference could be influenced by differences in age, sex, and geographical region. Also factor analysis and cluster analysis indicated some relation between color preference and the subjects' life styles. Dual scaling analysis of the results of Surveys 2 and 3 indicated that each Asian area has unique color preference tendencies and that there are statistically significant differences in the frequency of selection of colors of certain hues and tones. However, a high preference for white was common to all areas, along with preferences for some other colors. These results thus demonstrated a common strong preference for white in three neighboring Asian areas. The reasons given for the choices suggested that besides the factors of age and sex, associative images based on environmental and cultural aspects may be an important factor influencing color preference. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
This study examines existing beliefs about “color” focusing on color-emotion associations by discussing how color can be used as a way of communicator to fulfill human needs in residences. Fifty people from various age groups participated in the study. They were asked to match a list of adjectives with the proper color samples from the catalogue of a quite popular color producer firm in Turkey. Results indicate that there is a strong dependency between the choice and use of green at residences. Emotional responses to colors change with value and saturation levels. According to the test results, gender and age are determining factors in the selection of achromatic black. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 32, 144 – 150, 2007
Aristotle, a famous Greek philosopher, indicated that all perceptions are triggered by witness. Consumers have a first impression of sight memory for products within 0.67 seconds. The first impression dominates 67% of the purchasing process, which comes from colors. This research considers using colors to manifest corporate brand image and charm and believes that inappropriate usage of colors may confuse the corporate brand memory and image. This paper utilizes Birren's Color Theory to identify each color trait and explore the consistency between color traits of the corporate brand and the vision and goal of corporate identity. The results reveal that color also guides consumers to recognize corporate brands and, corporate brand recognition and image improves purchase and profit.
Colour has the potential to elicit emotions or behaviors, yet there is little research in which colour treatments in website design are systematically tested. Little is known about how colour affects trust or satisfaction on the part of the viewer. Although the Internet is increasingly global, few systematic studies have been undertaken in which the impact of colour on culturally diverse viewers is investigated in website design. In this research three website colour treatments are tested across three culturally distinct viewer groups for their impact on user trust, satisfaction, and e-loyalty. To gather data, a rich multi-method approach is used including eye-tracking, a survey, and interviews. Results reveal that website colour appeal is a significant determinant for website trust and satisfaction with differences noted across cultures. The findings have practical value for web marketers and interface designers concerning effective colour use in website development.
In this research we investigate the possibility of designing a user interface for electronic commerce systems that will evoke target feelings in the customer. The focus is on the impact of visual design factors on the feeling of trustworthiness because of its significant effect upon the behavior of customers using electronic commerce systems. Four empirical studies were conducted in the domain of cyber-banking systems. The subjects were cyber-banking system developers, bank personnel and potential customers of cyber-banking systems in Korea ranging in age from late teens to early forties. The first study was directed at developing the self-report questionnaire that faithfully reflects the emotional factors related to cyber-banking systems. The resulting questionnaire consisted of the forty bipolar emotive differential scales representative of the emotions most important in interacting with cyber-banking systems, e.g. reliable-not reliable. The second study focused on determining the important visual design factors from the customer's perspective. Fourteen design factors identified from subjects' descriptions were classified into the four design categories of title, menu, main clipart and color. The third study investigated the correlations between the emotional factors and design factors. The design factors were found to have significant effects upon the extent of feelings related to symmetry, trustworthiness, awkwardness and elegance. In the final study, two interfaces were designed based on the results of the third study to differentiate the extent of trustworthiness evoked. The results indicate that it is possible to manipulate the visual design factors of the customer interface in order to induce a target emotion, such as trustworthiness. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of the empirical results on the design and implementation of customer interfaces to electronic commerce systems in general.
The present research sought to extend the nascent literature on color and psychological functioning by examining whether perception of the color green facilitates creativity. In four experiments, we demonstrated that a brief glimpse of green prior to a creativity task enhances creative performance. This green effect was observed using both achromatic (white, gray) and chromatic (red, blue) contrast colors that were carefully matched on nonhue properties, and using both picture-based and word-based assessments of creativity. Participants were not aware of the purpose of the experiment, and null effects were obtained on participants' self-reported mood and positive activation. These findings indicate that green has implications beyond aesthetics and suggest the need for sustained empirical work on the functional meaning of green.
Color selection support systems require a quantitative model of the color design decision-making process in order to support
color selection strategies that further the specified goals of the designer without obstructing the unspecified goals. The
system described in this paper models the color selection decision process based on the current state of the design, the desired
state of the design, which is based on specified and unspecified designer goals. The specified goals are quantified as subjective
responses to completed designs. In the main study discussed, seven novice designers independently designed 20 web pages and,
in the process, every color selection was recorded. Adjective pairs selected from monologues provided semantic differential
for evaluation of the resulting designs. A neural network-based inference system models designer selection based on the eventual
results and the current state of the design to form designer strategies for color design support. This research is relevant
in a variety of interactive applications but is of special interest for systems that work in close conjunction with human
creativity.
The growth of electronic commerce, in particular business-to-consumer, has been explosive during the last few years. Until recently, the Web community has been a male dominated western-oriented society, with the design of Web sites reflecting that homogenous audience. Using an adapted version of Hofstede's dimensions as a means of differentiation, this study explores the perception and satisfaction levels of one hundred and sixty subjects on four web sites. Analysis indicates that perception and satisfaction differences exist between the cultural clusters and gender groups within those cultures --- Asia, Europe, Latin & South America, and North America. In particular, the perceptions of the Asian and Latin/South American were found to be similar, as were the perceptions of the Europeans and North Americans. Qualitative analysis indicates that females within certain cultures have widely different preferences from their male counterparts regarding web site attributes.
The purpose of this experiment was to examine the effect of web page text/background colour combination on readability, retention, aesthetics, and behavioural intention. One hundred and thirty-six participants studied two Web pages, one with educational content and one with commercial content, in one of four colour-combination conditions. Major findings were: (a) Colours with greater contrast ratio generally lead to greater readability; (b) colour combination did not significantly affect retention; (c) preferred colours (i.e., blues and chromatic colours) led to higher ratings of aesthetic quality and intention to purchase; and (d) ratings of aesthetic quality were significantly related to intention to purchase.