The effect of colour on reading performance in children, measured by a sensor hub: From the perspective of gender

Abstract

In recent decades reported findings regarding gender differences in reading achievement, cognitive abilities and maturation process in boys and girls are conflicting. As reading is one of the most important processes in the maturation of an individual, the aim of the study was to better understand gender differences between primary school students. The study evaluates differences in Heart Rate Variability (HRV), Electroencephalography (EEG), Electrodermal Activities (EDA) and eye movement of participants during the reading task. Taking into account that colour may affect reading skills, in that it affects the emotional and physiological state of the body, the research attempts to provide a better understanding of gender differences in reading through examining the effect of colour, as applied to reading content. The physiological responses of 50 children (25 boys and 25 girls) to 12 different background and overlay colours of reading content were measured and summarised during the reading process. Our findings show that boys have shorter reading duration scores and a longer Saccade Count, Saccade Duration Total, and Saccade Duration Average when reading on a coloured background, especially purple, which could be caused by their motivation and by the type of reading task. Also, the boys had higher values for the Delta band and the Whole Range of EEG measurements in comparison to the girls when reading on coloured backgrounds, which could reflect the faster maturation of the girls. Regarding EDA measurements we did not find systematic differences between groups either on white or on coloured/overlay background. We found the most significant differences arose in the HRV parameters, namely (SDNN (ms), STD HR (beats/min), RMSSD (ms), NN50 (beats), pNN50 (%), CVRR) when children read the text on coloured/overlay backgrounds, where the girls showed systematically higher values on HRV measurements in comparison to the boys, mostly with yellow, red, and orange overlay colours.

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“…These findings are supported by theories regarding the characteristics of learners since they prefer colorful material in video form to printed material especially if it is not colorful and only filled with text (Jakovljević et al, 2021;Stern-Ellran, Zilcha-Mano, Sebba, & Levit Binnun, 2016;Treiman, 2016). In addition, colorful media can also help young learners memorize better (Diachenko, Kalishchuk, Zhylin, Kyyko, & Volkova, 2022).…”

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“…The various intervention methods used to improve the literacy, cognitive function and reading ability of children with dyslexia include the use of colored backgrounds or layouts [ 16 , 17 ], multisensory and multimedia methods [ 51 ] and virtual reality [ 52 , 53 ]. The combination of cognitive functions, linguistic literacy deficits and self-esteem interventions is not provided in any study in the literature.…”

“…Recent studies have examined some factors that can improve or worsen reading performance. Among these factors, Jakovljevic et al found that gender [ 16 ] and color modifications [ 17 ] in text background and overlay influence their reading, with turquoise background/overlays and yellow backgrounds improving their performance. Moreover, some authors [ 18 ] have described the emotional and motivational aspects that characterize a child with an SLD, stating that a child with an SLD often presents a more negative self-concept, lower self-esteem, is more anxious and feels less emotional support.…”

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“…Eye movement analysis of texts that are colour coded shows that retention is better for colour coded texts than for conventional formats (Ozcelik, E. et al, 2009). With children, it was found that boys have shorter reading time with longer saccade durations and more saccades than girls when reading a text that has a coloured background (Jakovljević et al, 2021).…”