Students found to do better when surrounded by red and yellow colours

tunisante June 20, 2016 Health

Students prefer to study in pale coloured rooms which are most relaxing
Reading scores were significantly higher in rooms painted red and yellow
Previous studies found the two colours to be ‘more stimulating’ than blue
Two thirds believed red isn’t a suitable colour for a study environment

Rob Payne For Sciencenetwork Wa

Published:
11:55 EST, 20 June 2016

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Updated:
14:08 EST, 20 June 2016

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Struggling with that last minute exam prep? Paint your walls yellow and red.

Brightly coloured rooms can boost your concentration levels, scientists have discovered.

Students say they prefer to study in environments with pale colours which they feel are most relaxing, but researchers have found the opposite works better.

Levels of focus in students are higher when they are surrounded by vivid colours, a study from Curtin University, Australia found.

Students may prefer to study in environments with pale colours they find relaxing, but new research has found rooms painted in more vivid tones boost scores

Student participants were asked to read a passage and answer multiple-choice questions adopted from a university entrance test in rooms with six different colour schemes.

The rooms were pale and vivid shades of blue, red and yellow.

Their reading comprehension scores were significantly higher in the vivid red and yellow rooms.

Lead author Aseel Al-Ayash said: ‘Bright colours can support students’ learning performance by positively affecting psychological and physiological states.

‘If the reading tasks are difficult, the vivid colour conditions may increase arousal to optimal levels.’

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Several past studies have indicated the colours red and yellow are more stimulating than blue and green.

For example, student pulse rates increased in red and yellow conditions, but decreased in blue.

This is consistent with the Yerkes-Dodson Law, which proposes that arousal improves performance up to an optimal level, with additional arousal causing a drop off in performance.

Ironically, two-thirds of participants believed vivid red wasn’t a suitable colour for a study room, associating the colour with depression, discomfort, annoyance and elements such as danger.

Scientists from Curtin University, Australia, discovered reading comprehension scores of students sitting a university entrance test were significantly higher in rooms painted red and yellow

But given their improved learning outcomes, perhaps a bit of discomfort, aside from last minute cramming, is what they need.

Ms Al-Ayash added: ‘In general, most participants believed that pale colours with high whiteness would be appropriate colour schemes in learning environments, because they are considered calm and relaxing.

‘However, the calmness and relaxation aspects may not help students to be alert and active.

‘They performed better in the vivid colour conditions, because these colours have arousing properties that stimulate neural activity.

‘If the task is boring, a red condition may stimulate individuals and enhance their performance.’

It seems red and yellow may be the future of study areas, with Curtin and other Western Australia universities expressing a keenness for the work.