Color and its Effect on Individuals' Psychological Functions: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background and Objective: Regarding the psychological context of the environment, color is discussed as another environmental factor that has a great impact on human perception and behavior. In the study of the psychological-mental performance of individuals, indicators are used that indicate the individual's cognitive status. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to investigate the effect of color on the psychological functions of individuals. Materials and Methods: This systematic review searched published full-text and English articles in PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct ISI Web of Knowledge databases using such keywords as "color, function, cognitive, psychological" without a time limit. Eventually, 60 eligible articles were reviewed and included in this study. Results: Initially, 312 articles were identified out of various databases, and 123 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. On the other hand, 63 articles were excluded from the study due to a lack of experimental studies, and 60 articles were selected for final review. The factors that were emphasized in the studies included selective attention (n=6), alertness (n=3), sport performance (n=4), intellectual performance (n=7), aggressiveness/dominance evaluation (n=7), caution/avoidance (n=7), attraction (n=6), store/company evaluation (n=5), eating/drinking (n=7), memory (n=4), arousal (n=2), and time perception (n=2). The results also revealed that color had a significant effect on cognitive functions, including selective attention, alertness, sports performance, intellectual performance, aggressiveness/dominance evaluation, caution/ avoidance, attraction, store/company evaluation, eating/drinking, time perception, memory, and arousal. Conclusion:Color should be considered one of the main ways to promote mental health, perception, and behavior of people.