The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of interior color schemes in immersive virtual environments (IVEs) on emotion, task performance, and heart rate to examine IVEs’ potential for interior color research. Fifty–five (n = 55) student participants were recruited to experience four different colored IVE models (i.e., red, green, blue, and white), and their emotions, heart rate change, and proofreading performances during the immersion were measured. Participants were also asked about their sense of presence after the experience. The findings support the following three hypotheses: (1) IVE interior color schemes affect subject emotion, (2) IVE interior color schemes affect subject task performance as measured through a proofreading exercise, and (3) IVE interior color schemes affect subject heart rate. Specifically, red was perceived as significantly heavier, warmer, more exciting, tenser, and unpleasant. Significantly fewer errors occurred during the white immersion versus the green color scheme when completing the task performance exercise. While heart rate was reduced for each color, significant decreases were detected in the blue, white, and green color scenarios. The majority of participants felt a sense of being there when experiencing the four colored IVE spaces. Based on these results, we conclude that IVE has potential for interior color research to overcome the limitations of traditional color research tools.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbbasN., KumarD., & MclachlanN. (2005). The psychological and physiological effects of light and colour on space users. Paper presented at the 2005 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology 27th Annual Conference Proceedings (pp. 1228–1231), 2. Retrievied from https://doi.org/10.1109/IEMBS.2005.1616646
2.
AinsworthR. A., SimpsonL., & CassellD. (1993). Effects of three colors in an office interior on mood and performance. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 76(1), 235–241.
3.
AlY., ArifM., KaushikA., MazroeiA., KatafygiotouM., & ElsarragE. (2016). Occupant productivity and office indoor environment quality: A review of the literature. Building and Environment, 105, 369–389.
4.
Al–AyashA., KaneR. T., SmithD., & Green–ArmytageP. (2016). The influence of color on student emotion, heart rate, and performance in learning environments. Color Research and Application, 41(2), 196–205.
5.
BakkerI., van der VoordtT., VinkP., & de BoonJ. (2014). The use of questionnaires in colour research in real–life settings: In search of validity and methodological pitfalls. Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, 15(5), 464–478.
6.
BelliaL., BisegnaF., & SpadaG. (2011). Lighting in indoor environments: Visual and non–visual effects of light sources with different spectral power distributions. Building and Environment, 46(10), 1984–1992.
7.
BirrenF. (2006). Color psychology and color therapy: A factual study of the influence of color on human life. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing.
8.
CaldwellJ., & JonesG. (1985). The effects of exposure to red and blue light on physiological indices and time estimation. Perception, 14(1), 19–29.
9.
CarruthersH. R., MorrisJ., TarrierN., & WhorwellP. J. (2010). The manchester color wheel: Development of a novel way of identifying color choice and its validation in healthy, anxious and depressed individuals. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 10(1), 1–13.
10.
ChaS. H., KooC., KimT. W., & HongT. (2019). Spatial perception of ceiling height and type variation in immersive virtual environments. Building and Environment, 163(April), 106285.
11.
ClarkeT., & CostallA. (2008). The emotional connotations of color: A qualitative investigation. Color Research and Application, 33(5), 406–410.
12.
DavisJ. A., & NutterD. W. (2010). Occupancy diversity factors for common university building types. Energy and Buildings, 42(9), 1543–1551.
13.
DeniaudC., HonnetV., JeanneB., & MestreD. (2015). The concept of “presence” as a measure of ecological validity in driving simulators. Journal of Interaction Science, 3(1), 1.
14.
DurakA., OlguntürkN. C., YenerC., GüvençD., & GürçinarY. (2007). Impact of lighting arrangements and illuminances on different impressions of a room. Building and Environment, 42(10), 3476–3482.
15.
ElliotA. J., & MaierM. A. (2012). Color–in–context theory. Advances in experimental social psychology. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 65–125.
16.
ElliotA. J., MaierM. A., MollerA. C., FriedmanR., & MeinhardtJ. (2007). Color and psychological functioning: The effect of red on performance attainment. Journal of Experimental Psychology. General, 136(1), 154–168.
17.
GobbettiE., & ScateniR. (1998). Virtual reality: Past, present and future. In RivaG., WeiderholdB. K. & MolinariE. (Eds.), Virtual environments in clinical psychology and neuroscience: Methods and techniques in advances patient–therapist interaction. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: IOS 58.
18.
GreeneT. C., BellP. A., & BoyerW. N. (1983). Coloring the environment: Hue, arousal, and boredom. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 21(4), 253–254.
19.
HeydarianA., & Becerik–GerberB. (2017). Use of immersive virtual environments for occupant behaviour monitoring and data collection. Journal of Building Performance Simulation, 10(5–6), 484–498.
20.
HeydarianA., CarneiroJ. P., GerberD., Becerik–GerberB., HayesT., & WoodW. (2015). Immersive virtual environments versus physical built environments: A benchmarking study for building design and user–built environment explorations. Automation in Construction, 54, 116–126.
21.
HidayetogluM. L., YildirimK., & AkalinA. (2012). The effects of color and light on indoor wayfinding and the evaluation of the perceived environment. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 32(1), 50–58.
22.
Higuera–TrujilloJ. L., MaldonadoJ. L., & MillánC. L. (2017). Psychological and physiological human responses to simulated and real environments: A comparison between photographs, 360° panoramas, and virtual reality. Applied Ergonomics, 65, 398–409.
23.
KobayashiS. (1981). The aim and method of the color image scale. Color Research & Application, 6(2), 93–107.
24.
KuellerR., & MikellidesB. (1993). Simulated studies of color, arousal, and comfort. In MaransR. W. & StokelsD. (Eds.), Environmental simulation. (pp. 163–190). Boston, MA: Springer.
25.
KuligaS. F., ThrashT., DaltonR. C., & HölscherC. (2015). Virtual reality as an empirical research tool — Exploring user experience in a real building and a corresponding virtual model. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 54, 363–375.
26.
KüllerR., MikellidesB., & JanssensJ. (2009). Color, arousal, and performance – A comparison of three experiments. Color Research and Application, 34(2), 141–152.
27.
KurtS., & OsuekeK. K. (2014). The effects of color on the moods of college students. SAGE Open, 4(1), 215824401452542.
28.
KwallekN., & LewisC. M. (1990). Effects of environmental colour on males and females: A red or white or green office. Applied Ergonomics, 21(4), 275–278.
29.
KwallekN., LewisC. M., Lin–HsiaoJ. W. D., & WoodsonH. (1996). Effects of nine monochromatic office interior colors on clerical tasks and worker mood. Color Research & Application, 21(6), 448–458.
30.
KwallekN., SoonK., & LewisC. M. (2007). Work week productivity, visual complexity, and individual environmental sensitivity in three offices of different color interiors. Color Research and Application, 32(2), 130–143.
31.
KwallekN., SoonK., WoodsonH., & AlexanderJ. L. (2005). Effect of color schemes and environmental sensitivity on job satisfaction and perceived performance. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 101(2), 473–486.
32.
KwallekN., WoodsonH., LewisC. M., & SalesC. (1997). Impact of three interior color schemes on worker mood and performance relative to individual environmental sensitivity. Color Research and Application, 22(2), 121–132.
LoomisJ. M., BlascovichJ. J., & BeallA. C. (1999). Immersive virtual environment technology as a basic research tool in psychology. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 31(4), 557–564.
35.
MaffeiL., MasulloM., PascaleA., RuggieroG., & RomeroV. P. (2016). Immersive virtual reality in community planning: Acoustic and visual congruence of simulated vs real world. Sustainable Cities and Society, 27, 338–345.
36.
ManavB. (2006). Color–emotion associations and color preferences: A case study for residences. Color Research and Application, 32(2), 144–151.
37.
NazA., KopperR., McMahanR. P., & NadinM. (2017). Emotional qualities of VR space. In E.S. Rosenberg, D.M. Krum, Z. Wartell, B. Mohler, S.V. Babu, F. Steinicke, & V. Interrante, V. (Eds.), Proceedings of IEEE Virtual Reality (pp. 3–11), IEEE, New York, NY. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1109/VR.2017.7892225
38.
NiuS., PanW., & ZhaoY. (2016). A virtual reality integrated design approach to improving occupancy information integrity for closing the building energy performance gap. Sustainable Cities and Society, 27, 275–286.
39.
NorthM. M., & NorthS. (2016). A comparative study of sense of presence of traditional virtual reality and immersive environments. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 20, 1–15.
40.
OuL. C., LuoM. R., WoodcockA., & WrightA. (2004). A study of colour emotion and colour preference. Part I: Colour emotions for single colours. Color Research and Application, 29(3), 232–240.
41.
ÖztürkE., YilmazerS., & UralS. E. (2012). The effects of achromatic and chromatic color schemes on participants’ task performance in and appraisals of an office environment. Color Research and Application, 37(5), 359–366.
42.
PaesD., ArantesE., & IrizarryJ. (2017). Immersive environment for improving the understanding of architectural 3D models: Comparing user spatial perception between immersive and traditional virtual reality systems. Automation in Construction, 84(August 2016), 292–303.
43.
PamukO., & GöknarE. M. (2010). My name is red. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
44.
SaitoM. (1996). Comparative studies on color preference in Japan and other Asian regions with special emphasis on the preference for white. Color Research and Application, 21(1), 35–49.
45.
SavaviboolN., & MoorapunC. (2017). Effects of colour, area, and height on space perception. Environment–Behaviour Proceedings Journal, 2(6), 351.
46.
SchirilloJ. A. (2001). Tutorial on the importance of color in language and culture. Color Research and Application, 26(3), 179–192.
47.
SchubertT., FriedmannF., & RegenbrechtH. (2001). The experience of presence: Factor analytic snsights. Presence Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 10(3), 266–281.
48.
ShenY., YuanW., HsuW., & ChenY. (2000). Color selection in the consideration of color harmony for interior design. Color Research and Application, 25(1), 20–31.
49.
StoneN. (2001). Designing effective study environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21(2), 179–190.
50.
SunessonK., AllwoodC. M., PaulinD., HeldalI., RoupéM., JohanssonM., et al. (2008). Virtual reality as a new tool in city planning process. Tsinghua Science and Technology, 13(Suppl. 1), 255–260.
51.
TantanatewinW., & InkarojritV. (2016). Effects of color and lighting on retail impression and identity. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 46, 197–205.
52.
von CastellC., StelzmannD., OberfeldD., WelschR., & HechtH. (2018). Cognitive performance and emotion are indifferent to ambient color. Color Research and Application, 43(1), 65–74.
53.
WardonoP., HibinoH., & KoyamaS. (2012). Effects of interior colors, lighting and decors on perceived socialibility, emotion and behavior related to social dining. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 38(December 2010), 362–372.
54.
WesterdahlB., SunesonK., WernemyrC., RoupéM., JohanssonM., & AllwoodC. M. (2006). Users’ evaluation of a virtual reality architectural model compared with the experience of the completed building. Automation in Construction, 15(2), 150–165.
55.
WexnerL. B. (1954). The degree to which colors (hues) are associated with mood–tones. Journal of Applied Psychology, 38(6), 432–435.
56.
YerkesR., & DodsonJ. (1908). The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit–formation. Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology, 18(5), 459–482.
57.
YildirimK., Akalin–BaskayaA., & HidayetogluM. L. (2007). Effects of indoor color on mood and cognitive performance. Building and Environment, 42(9), 3233–3240.
58.
YildirimK., CapanogluA., CagatayK., & HidayetogluM. L. (2012). Effect of wall colour on the perception of hairdressing salons. Journal of the International Colour Association, 7(5), 51–63.
59.
YildirimK., HidayetogluM. L., & CapanogluA. (2011). Effects of interior colors on mood and preference: Comparisons of two living rooms. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 112(2), 509–524.
