Anda di halaman 1dari 16

Perceptual and Motor Skills, 2011, 112, 2, 509-524.

Perceptual and Motor Skills 2011

EFFECTS OF INTERIOR COLORS ON MOOD AND PREFERENCE: COMPARISONS OF TWO LIVING ROOMS1, 2
KEMAL YILDIRIM Department of Furniture and Decoration Gazi University M. LUTFI HIDAYETOGLU Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design Selcuk University

AYSEN CAPANOGLU Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design Hacettepe University Summary.The purpose was to assess whether various colors across room interiors do, in fact, evoke different moods. Digital images of two imaginary living rooms were used as the experimental settings. For each of the experiments, the rooms spatial characteristics were fixed, with only the colors changed: either warm, cool, or achromatic colors. As predicted, warm colors tended to produce stronger participant responses when rating the scene on high arousal, exciting, and stimulating. Cool colors tended be associated with not very arousing, but to be rated higher on spacious and restful. It is generally assumed that cool and achromatic colors evoke calmer and more peaceful emotions. The studys results show that the spatial characteristics of the imaginary spaces themselves affected participants responses only on measures of happiness and vividness. Lastly, sex differences were also found, with womens ratings generally more positive than those of men.

During the process of perceiving colors, an associated feeling or emotion is induced in the braina color emotion. The human eye perceives color as a stimulus in the form of light and the brain further processes that perception with the result that feelings and emotions are evoked (Billmeyer & Saltzman, 1981). An abundance of research in the field of color emotion has indicated that each color, as well as each combination of colors, conveys its own range of meanings (Kobayashi, 1981). As Mahnke (1996) argued, the psychological effects of color (color psychology) constitute a large, complex field, given the way the various colors induce a range of feelings and emotions in different people. Certain studies of single-color emotional responses have been concerned with whether a large number of color-emotion scales can be reduced to a smaller number of categories, or factors, using the semantic differential method introduced by Osgood, Suci, and Tannenbaum (1957) and factor analyAddress correspondence to Kemal Yildirim, Department of Furniture and Decoration, Gazi University, 06800, Ankara, Turkey or e-mail (kemaly@gazi.edu.tr). 2 The authors would like to thank Asst. Prof. Dr. Christopher Wilson, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Izmir University of Economics, and Dr. Jody Bilyeu for their careful proofreading of the English text and for their helpful suggestions.
1

DOI 10.2466/24.27.PMS.112.2.509-524

ISSN 0031-5125

510

K. YILDIRIM, ET AL.

sis as first devised by Spearman (1904). In a study of color emotions with regard to simulated interior spaces, Hogg, Goodman, Porter, Mikellides, and Preddy (1979) identified five factors that affect color perception: dynamism, spatial quality, emotional tone, complexity, and evaluation, and reported that dynamism and emotional tone were connected to the color characteristics of chroma and hue, respectively. Gelineau (1981) found that color value and color sensation may be differentiated into three essential characteristics: hue, tone, and chroma, which describe the warmth, coolness, and brightness of the built environment. The warmth and the coolness of various colors, including achromatic colors, are the subjects of discussion below. Psychological Studies of Reactions to Color A colors hue or gradation is determined by its wavelength. Short wavelengths are associated with cool colors, with violet being the shortest, followed by blue. Longer wavelengths are associated with warm colors, with red being the longest, followed by orange. Research of color usage in interior design has consistently shown that short wavelength colors are preferred by users, leading to a general association between affective tone and wavelength (Valdez & Mehrabian, 1994). Experimental research has suggested that the cool colors, blue and green, seem to have a relaxing effect and make an interior space seem peaceful, evoking increased perceptions of spaciousness, while warmer hues, such as red and orange, seem to have a stimulating effect, and tend to make an interior seem less spacious (Nelson, Pelech, & Foster, 1984; Whitfield & Wiltshire, 1990; Crowley, 1993). According to a study by Levy (1984), color and emotion are systematically related. Warm colors were found to especially provoke active feelings, such as anger from red and sadness from yellow. On the other hand, cool colors were reported to provoke calm feelings, such as relaxation from blue and calmness from purple. In an experiment by Adams and Osgood (1973), the most active color for a sample group was red, with the most passive colors, on the other hand, being black and gray. Achromatic color shades are considered to be one-dimensional because they lack two of the three essential qualities associated with color: hue and saturation. An achromatic color scheme contains only one dimensionbrightnessand in addition to the anchors of black and white, may include any of the shades that exist in between (Rock, 1975). Exploring achromatic colors (white, black, and gray), Wexner (1954) investigated associations between color samples and words describing moods. In general, the results of that study tended to support the findings of other color-emotion association studies. In particular, red was found to be more strongly associated with the terms excitement and stimulation, implying a

MOOD AND COLOR PREFERENCE

511

state of higher arousal. Blue was associated with the terms secure/comfortable and tender/soothing, implying states of pleasantness and lower arousal, while black was associated with the terms powerful/strong/masterful, implying a link with higher performance. Studies dealing with psychological measures, as previously discussed, have tended to show that red is arousing, and it has been argued that the use of red in an interior space might tend to impair performance of activities requiring fine psychomotor coordination. Opposite effects were argued for blue and green, which were found to have restful and facilitating effects (James & Domingos, 1953; Nakshian, 1964). Another study showed that blue colors especially evoke enhanced mood and calmness (Rosenstein, 1985; Stone, 2003). However, red and blue, as opposed to light blue and green, have been identified as increasing anxiety and nervousness (Kwallek, Lewis, & Robbins, 1988). By contrast with the above findings, some studies have found there to be no relationship between colors and mood (Ainsworth, Simpson, & Cassell, 1993; Kwallek, Lewis, Lin-Hsiao, & Woodson, 1996). Given that heretofore there have been no studies gauging the differing effects on observers of warm, cool, and achromatic interior color schemes, and operating from the assumption that each of these color schemes will differently affect the perceptions of participants, the specific aim of the current study was to assess the visual preferences of participants with regard to warm, cool, and achromatic interior color schemes. Sex Effects It is generally believed that people respond disparately to the environment in terms of their emotions. Furthermore, gender researchers have attributed these differences to a variety of social and biological factors (Putrevu, 2003, p. 47). In terms of color preference and sex, Ou, Luo, Woodcock, and Wright (2004), for instance, compared the sexes with regard to 11 color-combination emotions. It was found that women observers tended to respond like to color pairs that were light, relaxed, feminine, or soft, whereas this association was generally not observed for mens responses. Boyatzis and Varghese (1994) found in another study that women showed particularly positive responses to brighter colors and negative responses to darker colors, whereas men were much more likely to have a positive emotional reaction to dark colors. In a study by Hemphill (1996), blue was the most favored color, followed closely by green and red, for both men and women. Gray was the least favored color for each group. On the other hand, women responded more positively than did men to bright colors (blue, green, red, yellow, white, purple, and pink) and also responded more negatively to dark colors (black, brown, and gray). In addition, some researchers have found that women tend to pre-

512

K. YILDIRIM, ET AL.

fer cool colors more than men, whereas men tend to prefer bright colors and stronger achromatic colors than women (McInnis & Shearer, 1964). It has been argued that space is perceived more positively and objectively by men than by women. According to some literature on the topic, women appear to respond more subjectively, more sensitively, and in a more visually oriented manner than do men (Holbrook, 1986; Everhart, Shucard, Quatrin, & Shucard, 2001; Putrevu, 2003). Yildirim, Akalin-Baskaya, and Hidayetoglu (2007) have previously examined the effect of indoor color, sex, and age on the mood and cognitive performance of 250 participants, finding that men tended to evaluate the space more positively compared to women participants. Hypotheses The purpose of the study was to examine undergraduate students color-emotion associations in reference to three digital pictures of identical living room views in three different color schemes in two different virtual living rooms: warm colors, cool colors, and achromatic colors (white, black, and gray). Warm colors were expected to elicit higher arousal, evoking feelings of stimulation, warmth, and excitement as compared to cool and achromatic colors (Hypothesis 1a). Cool colors, on the other hand, would elicit feelings of spaciousness, restfulness, calm, and peacefulness (Hypothesis 1b). In addition, achromatic colors would be the least highly rated on adjective scales as compared to warm and cool colors, eliciting only more feelings of calm and peacefulness as compared to warm colors (Hypothesis 1c). Furthermore, in the color studies literature, there have been no studies assessing the various effects on participants of warm, cool, and achromatic colors in different interiors. Much color research has been conducted using specific adjectives for mood tones, asking participants to associate these adjectives with a color. Maslow and Mintz (1956), Mintz (1956), Miwa and Hanyu (2002), and Yildirim, Akalin-Baskaya, and Hidayetoglu (2007) have found that light, color, accessories, and furniture have a significant effect on perceptual evaluations of a built environment. It has also been found that associations of certain mood tones with particular colors are more apparent and precise than others (Wexner, 1954; Linton, 1999). With this in mind, it was expected that where spatial characteristics of interiors (i.e., furniture and decoration) vary, changes in color would evoke similar emotions independent of spatial characteristics, except in the case of responses associated with happiness and vividness (Hypothesis 2). The present study was also designed to further explore the effects of sex as an important independent variable with regard to color perception. In particular, the task was to investigate emotional responses to an interior

MOOD AND COLOR PREFERENCE

513

space across varying color schemes. Men were expected to respond more positively than women to an interior space independent of color (Hypothesis 3); however, differently decorated living rooms in similar color schemes would evoke similar positive or negative responses in men and women (Hypothesis 4). Method Participants The data for the present study were obtained from face-to-face meetings between an interviewer and participants during a period of two weeks in 2009. Participants were selected from among undergraduate student volunteers from the Interior Architecture Departments of Selcuk and Hacettepe Universities in Turkey. The research was carried out in two stages, Exp. 1 and Exp. 2, each using the same questionnaire. A total of 290 interior architecture students participated in the two experiments (Selcuk University: 161; Hacettepe University: 129). A total of 150 students participated in Exp. 1, and 140 in Exp. 2. Each group had a similarly diverse distribution by sex, 66% women overall (Exp. 1: 67% women; Exp. 2: 65% women). All participants were between 18 and 24 years old. In the subsequent phase of the study, the data obtained from the participant pools from each of the two universities were merged. Measures A single questionnaire was prepared for each of the two experiments consisting of two parts: the first asked for general information about the participants, and the second asked participants to record evaluations of the differently colored living rooms on each of 10 bipolar adjective pairs on a 7-point semantic differential scale anchored as follows: happy/unhappy, spacious/less spacious, restful/disturbing, warm/cold, vivid/lackluster, highly arousing/not very arousing, exciting/unexciting, stimulating/nonstimulating, calm/restless, peaceful/nonpeaceful. The technique of altering the sets of items from positive to negative, as previously done by Berlyne (1974), Imamoglu (2000), Kaya and Weber (2003), and Yildirim, Akalin-Baskaya, and Hidayetoglu (2007) was adopted to reduce the probability of participants simply marking the scale on either of the extremes. In compiling the initial list of items, the researchers tried not to be too specific, attempting rather to develop a list of general attributes that would fit the research subject. Procedures For this study, digital images of two imaginary living rooms (virtual spaces) were used as the experimental setting. In Exp. 1, the living room included a corner window, two shelves on the wall, two coffee tables, an armchair, and a sofa. In Exp. 2, the living room had a glass door, floor lamp, coffee table, and an armchair. Exps. 1 and 2 were modeled using

514

K. YILDIRIM, ET AL. TABLE 1 Lab Color Space Values Applied in Virtual Interiors Application Area Color L Gray Blue Red Gray Blue Red Gray Blue Red Lab Color Space Values a 0 55 55 0/ 0 40/50 40/ 50 0/ 0 45/50 40/ 50 b 0 40 40 0/ 0 30/50 30/ 50 0/ 0 30/50 30/ 50 40 40 40 20/30 20/30 20/30 30/40 25/50 25/50

Achromatic color (wall) Cool color (wall) Warm color (wall) Dark and light achromatic color (chair)* Dark and light cool color (chair)* Dark and light warm color (chair)* Dark and light achromatic color (carpet)* Dark and light cool color (carpet)* Dark and light warm color (carpet)*

Note.L: Lightness; a: Red/Green; b: Blue/Yellow. *Dark and light tones of the same color have been used in chair and carpet. Lab color space values of the dark and light tones have been demonstrated on the same cells.

the AutoCAD 2008 computer program, and a super-realistic view was obtained using 3DMax. For coloring, the Lab color space values were fixed in three different color schemes: cool, achromatic, and warm (Table 1). The virtual spaces lighting came predominantly from the natural light source of the window. Moreover, for general illumination, a standard light source was located in the middle of the space. Light levels of the experiments were set identically at 450 lux, and the color temperatures at 5,700 Kelvin. To enhance the reliability of the experiment, each of the experiment settings furniture and decoration were fixed, brightness and saturation were held constant and only the colors were changed (Fig. 1). Witmer, Bailey, and Knerr (1996), Tlauka and Wilson (1996), JansenOsmann and Berendt (2002), and Jansen-Osmann (2002) studied the viability and advantages of using 2D screen-based virtual reality in research. These studies have emphasized that virtual spaces designed using computer programs can be created in a very short time, more economically,

Experiment 1

Experiment 2

Fig. 1.Digital picture examples of the living rooms in Exp. 1 and Exp. 2

MOOD AND COLOR PREFERENCE

515

and with less effort as compared to the use of real-world spaces. Moreover, in comparing reactions to real-world places and virtual space simulations, these studies found that virtual environments adequately represented real-world complexity, and that values obtained for the virtual spaces were found to be almost identical to those obtained for real-world spaces. A recent meta-analysis by Stamps (2010) supports the validity of using virtual spaces to study reactions to architectural features. For each of the experiments, detailed digital pictures of the three hypothetical living-room color schemes were shown to participants on a projection screen. The projection device featured 1,024768 resolution and brightness of 2,500 lumens, and the projected image was approximately 2 m1.4 m. Procedure The participants were briefly introduced to the experiment at the beginning of the study, and they took approximately 15 min. to complete each of the questionnaires. Each experiment was conducted in sessions held at various times of the day, on weekdays. The second experiment was conducted a few weeks following the conclusion of the first. Analysis Living room colors and participants sex were considered independent variables. In order to test the hypotheses, the two experiments used a model with a 32 factorial design, color scheme (warm, cool, achromatic)sex (male, female). As in previous research (Yildirim, Akalin-Baskaya, & Celebi, 2007), Cronbachs alpha coefficients of the dependent variables were calculated and a correlation test was used to assess if there were relationships between the dependent variables. Afterwards, the categorical means of the data were derived along with their standard deviations and their alignment into homogeneous groups. Then, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine the effects of differences in interior design characteristics on the participants perceptions in the context of the living rooms. Subsequently, to examine the effects of the independent variables on the participants perception, the appropriate technique of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used. To compare the significant means of the variances in the analysis of variations, the data are shown in graphical form. Results and Discussion The internal consistency reliability of the semantic differential scale, including the adjective pairs, was tested using Cronbachs alpha, the results of which are reported in Table 2. Cronbachs alpha coefficient for the set of 10 bipolar semantic differential items, including perceptual quality, was .92. The coefficient of the scale was above .70, the threshold for good

516

K. YILDIRIM, ET AL. TABLE 2 Cronbachs Internal Consistency Reliability For Dependent Variables Bipolar Item Cronbachs alpha happy/unhappy .91 spacious/less spacious .91 restful/disturbing .91 warm/cold .92 vivid/lackluster .92 highly arousing/not very arousing .91 exciting/unexciting .91 stimulating/nonstimulating .92 calm/restless .92 peaceful/nonpeaceful .92

reliability according to some researchers (Bagozzi & Yi, 1988; Bosma, Marmot, Hemingway, Nicholson, Brunner, & Stansfield, 1997; Grewal, Krishnan, Baker, & Borin, 1998). The scale may therefore be considered reliable. In both experiments, the statistical relationships between the different color schemes of the virtual scenes (warm, cool, and achromatic) and participants perceptions of the environmental conditions were analyzed. The results of the research questionnaire are provided in Table 3 in terms of the mean, standard deviation, and alignment into homogeneous groups for each of the items under the dependent variables. According to the results shown in Table 3, in both experiments (Exps. 1 and 2), the differences among participants perceptions of the three color schemes of the two virtual scenes were found to be statistically significant (at a level of p<.01) for all of the bipolar adjective pairs: happy/unhappy (F2,867=34.03, p<.001; 2=0.07), spacious/less spacious (F2,867=55.45, p<.001; 2=0.11), restful/disturbing (F2,867=23.48, p<.001; 2=0.05), warm/cold (F2,867=198.96, p<.001; 2=0.32), vivid/lackluster (F2,867=138.85, p<.001; 2=0.24), highly arousing/not very arousing (F2,867=25.62, p<.001; 2=0.06), exciting/unexciting (F2,867=40.65, p<.001; 2=0.09), stimulating/nonstimulating (F2,867=154.56, p<.001; 2=0.26), calm/restless (F2,867=50.65, p<.001; 2=0.11), peaceful/nonpeaceful (F2,867=4.64, p<.01; 2=0.01). In addition, comparing responses between experiments, the differences in perceptual evaluations persisted, with the orientation of the participants perceptual evaluations for both experiments being parallel, whether positive or negative. The differences between the participants evaluations of the various color schemes of the virtual interiors, including the perceptions of environmental conditions that evoked a positive perceptual response, are presented graphically in Fig. 2. As seen in Fig. 2, differences in reported responses according to the independent variables (warm, cool, and achromatic colors) and the dependent variables (environmental conditions) have clearly emerged. It is

TABLE 3 Means, Standard Deviations, and Homogeneous Group of Dependent Variables Dependent Variable Exp. Warm M happy/unhappy spacious/less spacious restful/disturbing warm/cold vivid/lackluster highly arousing/not very arousing exciting/unexciting stimulating/nonstimulating calm/restless peaceful/nonpeaceful Exp. 1 Exp. 2 Exp. 1 Exp. 2 Exp. 1 Exp. 2 Exp. 1 Exp. 2 Exp. 1 Exp. 2 Exp. 1 Exp. 2 Exp. 1 Exp. 2 Exp. 1 Exp. 2 Exp. 1 Exp. 2 Exp. 1 Exp. 2 3.11 3.31 3.45 3.62 3.89 3.69 2.03 2.21 2.45 2.91 3.12 3.22 3.27 3.36 2.47 2.84 4.81 4.66 3.63 3.98 SD 1.96 1.94 1.93 1.86 1.88 1.86 1.64 1.81 1.40 1.58 2.14 2.05 2.08 1.96 1.71 1.70 1.72 1.70 1.76 1.61 HG A A A B B B A A A A A A A A A A C C C C M 3.71 3.03 3.24 2.59 3.35 2.86 4.69 4.10 3.06 2.56 3.95 3.47 4.15 4.10 4.17 4.11 3.36 3.10 3.35 3.38 Evaluation (Ranking of Pictures) Cool SD 1.64 1.43 1.90 1.56 1.77 1.67 1.87 1.80 1.70 1.55 1.73 1.64 1.60 1.69 1.72 1.59 1.82 1.72 1.72 1.67 HG B A A A A A B B B A B A B B B B A A A A M 4.52 4.16 4.73 4.26 4.24 4.05 4.97 4.86 4.89 4.58 4.37 4.25 4.73 4.64 5.13 4.98 4.15 4.10 3.43 3.89 Achromatic SD 1.85 1.81 1.72 1.88 1.95 1.94 1.81 1.85 1.77 1.90 1.94 1.97 1.88 1.81 1.69 1.58 1.89 2.00 1.83 1.75 HG C B B C B B B C C B B B C C C C B B A B MOOD AND COLOR PREFERENCE

Note.Mean ratings ranged from 1 to 7, with higher numbers representing more negative responses.

517

518
5.5 4.8

K. YILDIRIM, ET AL.

Means of Items

4.1 3.4 2.7 2.0

happy/ spacious/ restful/ unhappy less spacious disturbing

warm/ cold

vivid/ lackluster

high arousal/ not very arousing

exciting/ stimulating/ calm/ unexciting nonstim restless ulating

peaceful/ nonpeace ful

Fig. 2.Effects of virtual interior color schemes on dependent variables. Means ranged from 1 to 7, with higher numbers representing more negative responses. Exp. 1 Warm ( ); Exp. 1 Cool ( ); Exp. 1 Achromatic ( ); Exp. 2 Warm ( ); Exp. 2 Cool ( ); Exp. 2 Achromatic ( ).

generally understood that warm colors are associated with higher arousal, evoking more stimulating and exciting emotions as compared to cool and achromatic colors. The cool colors, on the other hand, are thought to produce feelings of spaciousness, restfulness, calm, and peacefulness as compared to the warmer colors. The present results support the first hypothesis of the study and are in accord with the findings of previous research (e.g., Nelson, et al., 1984; Crowley, 1993; Kaya & Crosby, 2006; Manav, 2007). In addition, achromatic color interiors were evaluated more negatively for all the bipolar items except those related to feelings of calm and peacefulness. The results show that the perceptions of each of the three different color schemes of the two virtual interiors were statistically different with regard to the perceptual quality variables concerning high arousal, stimulation, and excitement, ranging in order from most positive to most negative as follows: warm color interior>cool color interior>achromatic color interior. The evocation of feelings of spaciousness and restfulness differed by color scheme as well, ranging in order from most positive to most negative as follows: cool color interior>warm color interior>achromatic color interior. In terms of their propensity to elicit feelings of calm and peacefulness, the various color schemes ranged in order from most positive to most negative as follows: cool color interior>achromatic color interior>warm color interior. Lastly, feelings of happiness and vividness as elicited by each of the color schemes ranged from most positive to most negative in Exp. 1 as follows: warm color interior>cool color interior>achromatic color interior, and in Exp. 2 as follows: cool color interior>warm color inte-

MOOD AND COLOR PREFERENCE

519

rior>achromatic color interior. Thus, it can be safely argued that when the location of similar color schemes does not change but other spatial characteristics (i.e., furniture and decoration) do change, the nature (positive/ negative) of the perceptual effect of color schemes on users persists. This result, which supports the second hypothesis of the study, clearly indicates that color has a predominant effect on interior design factors as compared to other considerations. For both experiments, the response differences between the sexes were analyzed for each of the three digital pictures of the same view rendered with warm, cool, and achromatic colors (Table 4). For each of the dependent variables, male participants reported lower values (i.e., more positive responses) while female participants reported higher values (i.e., more negative responses) for both of the brightly colored interiors (warm and cool colors). The values for the achromatic interior, however, were similar for both sexes. It must be noted that female participants responded more negatively to both warm and cool colors. For both male and female participants, responses to color schemes varied from most positive to most negative in the following order: warm>cool>achromatic. Thus, there seems to be statistically meaningful differences between the sexes in terms of their perception of environmental conditions. Therefore, based on the results regarding the effect of sex on participants perceptions of environmental conditions, the hypothesis that differences would be observed is supported.
TABLE 4 Means and Standard Deviations of Ratings by Sex, of Living Room Color Participants Sex Warm M Male Female 2.84 3.52 SD 1.06 1.47 M 3.16 3.70 Color Cool SD 1.00 1.25 Achromatic M 4.35 4.49 SD 1.40 1.47

Note.Means ranged from 1 to 7, with higher numbers representing more negative responses.

The effects of any interaction between the independent variables (color and sex), depending on the participants perceptions of the environmental conditions for dependent variables, were tested using the MANOVA. According to the results shown in Table 5, the main effects for color (F20,1712=50.62, p<.001) and participants sex (F10,855=4.198, p<.001) and the two-way interaction for colorsex (F20,1712=2.900, p<.001) were found to be significant. Thus, it may be said that for differences among warm/cool /achromatic living rooms, participants sex had an effect on perceptions of environmental conditions. More generally, it may be said that differences

520

K. YILDIRIM, ET AL. TABLE 5 MANOVA of Independent Variables

Independent Variable Living room color Sex Living room colorsex

Wilks .743 .047 .066

F 50.62 4.20 2.90

df 20 10 20

p <.001 <.001 <.001

2 0.37 0.05 0.03

among interior colors are important factors in the evaluation of environmental conditions. Moreover, Yildirim, Akalin-Baskaya, and Hidayetoglu (2007) have argued variance analyses demonstrate the reliability of the total scores on dependent variables. An examination of the F values derived from the table of variance analyses revealed that among all variables, the factor which most affected participants perceptions of the living rooms was color (F20,1712=50.618, p<.001). Differences in perceptions of the living rooms were also observed by sex (F10,855=4.198, p<.001). Although the two-way interaction for colorsex (F20,1712=2.900, p<.001) was found to be significant, it had a smaller effect on the perception of environmental conditions than the other two main factors. These results support the third hypothesis of the study, that male participants would respond more positively than female participants in terms of their perceptions of living room color schemes, and also the fourth hypothesis, that different living rooms with similar color schemes would be interpreted by men and women in a similar manner (positive or negative) but with different mean scores, even when the characteristics of the interiors changed. The results of this research indicate that differences among the participants perceptions of each of the three different interior color schemes with regard to environmental factors were statistically significant. Specifically, the warm color example tended to elicit more active feelings and the cool color example tended to be associated with responses having to do with feelings of calmness. For instance, warm colors were seen as stimulating, highly arousing, and exciting, while cool colors were associated with spaciousness, restfulness, and calm. This result supports the observations of Levy (1984), Nelson, et al. (1984), Whitfield and Wiltshire (1990), Mahnke (1996), Kaya and Crosby (2006), and Manav (2007), who have all suggested that cool colors are relaxing, that they make interior spaces more peaceful, and that they increase feelings of spaciousness, while warmer hues are more stimulating and make interior spaces seem less spacious. For the achromatic color scheme, the responses were quite negative as compared to those for the warm and cool color schemes. As Hemphill (1996) has previously demonstrated, people react more positively to brighter colors (white, pink, red, yellow, blue, purple, and green) and more negatively to darker colors (brown, black, and gray). The findings

MOOD AND COLOR PREFERENCE

521

of the present study also clearly present achromatic colors as being more associated with calm and peacefulness than warm colors. While the interior use of warm and cool colors was perceived positively, achromatic colors were perceived negatively, with the exception of measures of calm and peacefulness. Accordingly, if it is desired that interiors be seen as spacious, restful, calm, and peaceful, then cool colors should be used. On the other hand, if it is desired that interiors be seen as more arousing, exciting, and stimulating, then warm colors should be used. Moreover, when the color scheme of a location does not change, and other spatial characteristics (i.e., furniture and decoration) do change, the perceptual effect of the colors in terms of positive and negative impact will be similar. Therefore, the way in which interior design factors affect dominant color clearly emerged as a priority to be addressed in terms of user satisfaction. In comparisons of color-evoked emotions between sexes, the influence of hue was generally found to be greater. Male participants tended to report more positive perceptions than did female participants, with men perceiving brightly colored interiors more positively than dark interiors. This result supports the findings of McInnis and Shearer (1964), who also found that men preferred brighter and more strongly chromatic colors, more so than did women. The result here also supports Chengs findings (2001) that red and yellow with high chroma were generally regarded by men as warm and dynamic, whereas green and blue colors were considered cool and passive. In the present study, male participants reported more positive responses for both the warm and the cool color schemes. However, with regard to the achromatic color schemes, no statistically significant difference was found between the sexes. Further research is required to examine this color contradiction, how different saturations and brightnesses of warm, cool, and achromatic colors are associated with positive and negative emotional responses for various spatial settings.
REFERENCES

Adams, F. M., & Osgood, C. E. (1973)A cross-cultural study of the affective meanings of color. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 4, 135-157. Ainsworth, R. A., Simpson, L., & Cassell, D. (1993)Effects of three colors in an office interior on mood and performance. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 76, 235-241. Bagozzi, R. P., & Yi, Y. (1988)On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16, 74-94. Berlyne, D. E. (1974)Studies in the new experimental aesthetics. New York: Wiley. Billmeyer, F. W., & Saltzman, M. (1981)Principles of color technology. New York: Wiley. Bosma, H., Marmot, M. G., Hemingway, H., Nicholson, A. C., Brunner, E., & Stansfield, S. A. (1997)Low job control and risk of coronary heart disease in Whitehall II (prospective cohort) study. British Medical Journal, 314, 558-565.

522

K. YILDIRIM, ET AL.

Boyatzis, C. J., & Varghese, R. (1994)Childrens emotional associations with colors. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 155, 77-85. Cheng, K. (2001)Quantitative evaluation of color emotions. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, The Hong Kong Polytechnic Univer. Crowley, A. E. (1993)The two-dimensional impact of color on shopping. Marketing Letter, 4, 59-69. Everhart, D. E., Shucard, J. L., Quatrin, T., & Shucard, D. W. (2001)Sex-related differences in event-related potentials, face recognition, and facial affect processing in prepubertal children. Neuropsychology, 15, 329-341. Gelineau, E. P. (1981)A psychometric approach to the measurement of color preference. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 53, 163-174. Grewal, D., Krishnan, R., Baker, J., & Borin, N. (1998)The effect of store name, brand name, and price discounts on consumers evaluations and purchase intentions. Journal of Retailing, 74, 331-352. Hemphill, M. (1996)A note on adults color-emotion associations. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 157, 275-280. Hogg, J., Goodman, S., Porter, T., Mikellides, B., & Preddy, D. E. (1979)Dimensions and determinants of judgments of color samples and a simulated interior space by architects and non-architects. British Journal of Psychology, 70, 231-242. Holbrook, M. B. (1986)Aims, concepts, and methods for the representation of individual differences in aesthetic responses to design features. Journal of Consumer Research, 13, 337-347. Imamoglu, C. (2000)Complexity, liking, and familiarity: architecture and non-architecture Turkish students assessments of traditional and modern house facades. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 20, 5-16. James, W. T., & Domingos, W. R. (1953)The effect of color shock on motor performance and tremor. Journal of General Psychology, 48, 187-193. Jansen-Osmann, P. (2002)Using desktop virtual environments to investigate the role of landmarks. Computers in Human Behavior, 18, 427-436. Jansen-Osmann, J., & Berendt, B. (2002)Investigating distance knowledge using virtual environments. Environment & Behavior, 34, 178-193. Kaya, N., & Crosby, M. (2006)Color associations with different building types: an experimental study on American college students. Color Research and Application, 31, 67-71. Kaya, N., & Weber, M. J. (2003)Cross-cultural differences in the perception of crowding and privacy regulation: American and Turkish students. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 23, 301-309. Kobayashi, S. (1981)The aim and method of the Color Image Scale. Color Research Application, 6, 93-107. Kwallek, N., Lewis, C. M., Lin-Hsiao, J. W. D., & Woodson, H. (1996)Effects of nine monochromatic office interior colors on clerical tasks and worker mood. Color Research and Application, 21, 448-458. Kwallek, N., Lewis, C. M., & Robbins, A. S. (1988)Effects of office interior color on workers mood and productivity. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 66, 123-128. Levy, B. I. (1984)Research into the psychological meaning of color. American Journal of Art Therapy, 23, 58-62.

MOOD AND COLOR PREFERENCE

523

Linton, H. (1999)Color in architecture: design methods for building, interiors, and urban spaces. New York: McGraw-Hill. Mahnke, F. H. (1996)Color, environment, and human response. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. Manav, B. (2007)Color-emotion associations and color preferences: a case study for residences. Color Research and Application, 32, 144-150. Maslow, A., & Mintz, N. (1956)Effects of aesthetic surroundings: I. Initial effects of three aesthetic conditions upon perceiving energy and well-being in faces. Journal of Psychology, 41, 247-254. McInnis, J. H., & Shearer, J. K. (1964)Relationship between color choices and selected preferences for the individual. Journal of Home Economics, 56, 181-187. Mintz, N. L. (1956)Effects of aesthetic surroundings: II. Prolonged and repeated experience in a beautiful and ugly room. Journal of Psychology, 41, 459-466. Miwa, Y., & Hanyu, K. (2002)The classification of counseling: rooms based on the components of interior. Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Conference of the Environmental Design Research Association, 33, 108. Nakshian, J. S. (1964)The effects of red and green surroundings on behavior. Journal of General Psychology, 70, 143-161. Nelson, J. G., Pelech, M. T., & Foster, S. F. (1984)Color preference and stimulation seeking. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 59, 913-914. Osgood, C. E., Suci, G. J., & Tannenbaum, P. H. (1957)The measurement of meaning. Champaign, IL: Univer. of Illinois Press. Pp. 31-75. Ou, L-C., Luo, M. R., Woodcock, A., & Wright, A. (2004)A study of colour emotion and colour preference: Part II. Colour emotions for two-colour combinations. Color Research and Application, 29, 292-298. Putrevu, S. (2003)Exploring the origins and information processing differences between men and women: implications for advertisers. Journal of Marketing Management, 2, 47-66. Rock, I. (1975)An introduction to perception. New York: Macmillan. Rosenstein, L. D. (1985)Effect of color of the environment on task performance and mood of males and females with high or low scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 60, 550. Spearman, C. (1904)General intelligence, objectively determined and measured. American Journal of Psychology, 15, 201-292. Stamps, A. E. (2010)Use of static and dynamic media to simulate environments: a meta-analysis. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 111, 355-362. Stone, N. J. (2003)Environmental view and color for a simulated telemarketing task. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 23, 63-78. Tlauka, M., & Wilson, P. N. (1996)Orientation-free representations from navigation through a computer-simulated environment. Environment & Behavior, 28, 647-664. Valdez, P., & Mehrabian, A. (1994)Effects of color on emotion. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 123, 394-409. Wexner, L. B. (1954)The degree to which colors are associated with mood-tones. Journal of Applied Psychology, 38, 432-435. Whitfield, T. W. A., & Wiltshire, T. J. (1990)Color psychology: a critical review. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 116, 387-411.

524

K. YILDIRIM, ET AL.

Witmer, B. G., Bailey, J. H., & Knerr, B. W. (1996)Virtual spaces and real world places: transfer of route knowledge. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 45, 413-428. Yildirim, K., Akalin-Baskaya, A., & Celebi, M. (2007)The effects of window proximity, partition height, and sex on perceptions of open-plan offices. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 27, 154-165. Yildirim, K., Akalin-Baskaya, A., & Hidayetoglu, M. L. (2007)Effects of indoor color on mood and cognitive performance. Building and Environment, 42, 3233-3240. Accepted March 8, 2011.

Anda mungkin juga menyukai