Publicity given in recent years to schemes for using color in teaching reading has created widespread interest in this specific use of color in education. Researchers, however, have long been interested in the role of color in learning, and there is a sizeable body of literature on the subject. The purpose of the present paper is to review this research, examine present-day uses of color in instructional materials, and consider some general implications and questions regarding color as an aid to learning.
RESEARCH THEMESFrom a review of the research related to color in learning, two general themes emerge. One is the study of color in developing concepts; the other is the study of color as a contextual cue, particularly in pairedassociate learning. We shall consider both types of study at some length.
Color in Concept AttainmentThere have been several different experimental approaches to the study of color in concept attainment. The studies reviewed here are grouped by approach.Using a set-up similar to that employed by Harlow in his work with primates, Calvin and Clifford (1956) taught first grade subjects which of two cups contained a toy by displaying cards above the cups and rewarding children when they chose the &dquo;correct&dquo; card. They found that the subjects had more difficulty when the cards were of different colors than when they were of the same hue but of different patterns, or were achromatic. House and Zeaman (1963) found that after selection of a stimulus characterized by both color and form had been reinforced through rewards
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