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Originally published in Science Express on 5 February 2009
Science 27 February 2009:
Vol. 323. no. 5918, pp. 1226 - 1229
DOI: 10.1126/science.1169144
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Reports

Blue or Red? Exploring the Effect of Color on Cognitive Task Performances

Ravi Mehta and Rui (Juliet) Zhu*

Existing research reports inconsistent findings with regard to the effect of color on cognitive task performances. Some research suggests that blue or green leads to better performances than red; other studies record the opposite. Current work reconciles this discrepancy. We demonstrate that red (versus blue) color induces primarily an avoidance (versus approach) motivation (study 1, n = 69) and that red enhances performance on a detail-oriented task, whereas blue enhances performance on a creative task (studies 2 and 3, n = 208 and 118). Further, we replicate these results in the domains of product design (study 4, n = 42) and persuasive message evaluation (study 5, n = 161) and show that these effects occur outside of individuals' consciousness (study 6, n = 68). We also provide process evidence suggesting that the activation of alternative motivations mediates the effect of color on cognitive task performances.

Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, 2053 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: juliet.zhu{at}sauder.ubc.ca

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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