Interior Color and Psychological Functioning in a University Residence Hall

Abstract

The research exploited a unique architectural setting of a university residence hall composed by six separate buildings that matched for every architectural detail and differed only for the interior color (violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red). Four hundred and forty-three students living in the six buildings for an average of 13.33 months participated in a study that assessed color preference (hue and lightness), lightness preference, and the effects of color on studying and mood. The results showed a preference for blue interiors, followed by green, violet, orange, yellow, and red. A preference bias was found for the specific color in which the student lived. Gender differences emerged for the preference of blue and violet. Room-lightness was significantly affected by the interior color. Room ceiling was preferred white. Blue as interior color was considered to facilitate studying activity. The use of differentiated colors in the six buildings was evaluated to significantly facilitate orienting and wayfinding. A significant relation was found between a calm mood and preference for blue.

On the Right Track: Comfort and Confusion in Indoor Environments

“…The results also indicate that, to create more comfortable paths, not only the structure of the physical environment but also other factors have to be integrated into the route planning algorithm. These findings might be in line with the positions of multiple scholars who argue that the effect of other people influences wayfinding [109][110][111][112] and that colors and illumination can facilitate navigation [113,114].…”

Senses of place: architectural design for the multisensory mind

“…The majority of researchers have tended to focus their empirical investigations on studying the impact of changing the stimulation presented to just one sense at a time. More often than not, in fact, they would focus on a single sensory attribute, such as, for example, investigating the consequences of changing the colour (hue) of the lighting or walls (e.g., Bellizzi, et al, 1983 ; Bellizzi & Hite, 1992 ; Costa, Frumento, Nese, & Predieri, 2018 ; Crowley, 1993 ), or else just modulating the brightness of the ambient lighting (e.g., Gal, Wheeler, & Shiv, 2007 ; Xu & LaBroo, 2014 ). Such a unisensory (and, in some cases, unidimensional) approach undoubtedly makes sense inasmuch as it may help to simplify the problem of studying how design affects us (Malnar & Vodvarka, 2004 ).…”

A Historically Based Review of Empirical Work on Color and Psychological Functioning: Content, Methods, and Recommendations for Future Research

“…The link between viewing red and excitement/stimulation has received support from a considerable number of experiments (Aaronson, 1971; Adams & Osgood, 1973; Al-Ayash, Kane, Smith, & Green-Armytage, 2016; Boyatzis & Varghese, 1994; Briki & Hue, 2016; Buechner & Maier, 2016; Cheng, Wu, & Yen, 2009; Deutsch, 1937; Goldstein, 1942; Gorn, Chattopadhyay, Yi, & Dahl, 1997; Hanada, 2018; Harbin & Williams, 1966; Hemphill, 1996; Hevner, 1935; Kaya & Epps, 2004; Kuzinas, Noiret, Bianchi, & Laurent, 2016; Labrecque & Milne, 2012; Lewinski, 1938; Madden, Hewett, & Roth, 2000; Moharreri, Dabanloo, Parvaneh, & Nasrabadi, 2011; Murray & Deabler, 1957; Ou, Luo, Woodcock, & Wright, 2004a; Oyama, Tanaka, & Chiba, 1962; Pressey, 1921; Rajae-Joordens, 2011; Schaie, 1961; Siamionava, Slevitch, & Tomas, 2018; Soriano & Valenzuela, 2009; Stefanescu-Goanga, 1911; Thönes, von Castell, Iflinger, & Oberfeld, 2018; Walters, Apter, & Svebak, 1982; Wang, Shu, & Mo, 2014; Wells, 1910; Wexner, 1954; Williams & Foley, 1968; Williams & McMurtry, 1970; Wilson, 1966; Wright & Gardner, 1960; Yoto, Katsuura, Iwanaga, & Shimomura, 2007; Zieliński, 2016), although a noteworthy number of studies have not observed this relation (Ainsworth, Simpson, & Cassell, 1993; Bagchi & Cheema, 2013; Bellizzi, Crowley, & Hasty, 1983; Bellizzi & Hite, 1992; Costa, Frumento, Nese, & Predieri, 2018; Crowley, 1993; Greene, Bell, & Boyer, 1983; Hagtvedt & Brasel, 2017; Kido,...…”