memory effects on color (original) (raw)

Abstract

We live in a world of color. The rapid rise in technology utilizing full color spectrums such as televisions, the internet, and cell phones, has intensified research on the impact of color on memory(Greene, Bell, & Boyer, 1983; Wilson, 1996). Previous research has shown that warm colors can increase memory retention (Myers, 2006). Given the amount of color with color naming which individuals engage while comprehending information .it is logical to question whether color has enough impact to increase memory retention. Color has been found to increase a person's arousal. It was proposed by Faber Birren (1950) that warm colors, such as red and yellow, increase arousal more than cool colors, such as green and blue. Warm colors are those that are vivid in nature. Artistically speaking, they are said to advance in space, opposed to cool colors that are soothing and tend to recede in space. Birren's finding was supported by further research done by Greene, et al. (1983). They found that warm colors increase arousal compared to cool colors. Participants were issued three different scales measuring emotional response, personal feelings, and quality of place. They were then seated in a small room with one of ten different colors mounted on the walls. They then filled out the scales again and were given a task to measure boredom. Greene et al. found that yellow and orange (warm colors) elicited more arousal than other colors like brown and gray.

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