TOPIC: Does Using Colored Paper Improve Learning or Academic Performance?
RELATED STUDIES/LITERATURES:
In the study entitled “A Study of the Effect of Paper Color on Test Performance in Business Communication” (2009) by Janet K. Winter and Esther J. Winter of University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg stated that, Color has been shown to affect mood and productivity in a variety of different situations. This study evaluated the performance of students in readiness-assessment quizzes in business communication classes, comparing the grades of students whose test papers were white with grades of students who received pastel-colored test papers. The results revealed that there was no significant difference between the two groups. Other research suggests that color may, however, have an effect in other situations [1].
Mehta and Zhu (2009) have published studies that they claim clarify how red and blue differently affect performance on detail-oriented versus creative tasks with strong implications for test preparation and testing formats [2].
According to Sinclair (1998), students taking exams on blue and red paper performed more effectively on blue, especially for complex questions [3]. Whitfield and Wiltshire, in their critical review of the field, discounted the work done before 1950 because it didn’t consider even the three basic components of color (hue, value, and chrome). They also identified flaws in most subsequent research: inconsistencies in the terminology used by respondents to express preferences; lack of attention to surround color (as well as sample color); disregard of the effects of illumination; lack of discussion of size, shape, texture, and complexity of the objects used to present sample colors; and the lack of control for how the very nature of the sample objects might affect a subject’s response to the color of that object. With all these issues, it is not surprising that the field of color psychology has reported a mass of often conflicting results [4].
In the study entitled “Paper Color May Have an Effect on Student Performance” (2009) by David R. Fordham, Professor, David C. Hayes, Assistant Professor of James Madison University stated that, students with white and yellow colored paper performed significantly better than students with either blue or pink colored paper. Students with green colored paper performed somewhere in the middle of the other four colors. Prior research is compared with the current study findings, and it is suggested that, given the past somewhat inconsistent findings of color effects, further research is warranted to disentangle the mixed results and instructors should consider utilizing other means to deter cheating. If an instructor feels that the only method he or she can employ to monitor cheating is to color‐code exams, the instructor should consider using a combination of white, yellow, or green pastel colored exams, and avoid blue or pink colored exams [5].
In the study “The Effect of Color on Conscious and Unconscious Cognition” (2010) by Jennifer Olsen of Carnegie Mellon University stated that colors produce different cognitive learning motivations: red produces an avoidance motivation and blue produces an approach motivation. The avoidance motivation results in better performance on detail-oriented tasks, and the approach motivation results in better performance on creative tasks. To test this prediction, the first study used a signal detection task manipulating word valence and color to independently measure (a) the ability to discriminate previously seen words from new words and (b) response bias. In the second study she used process dissociation, a method that separates conscious recollection from unconscious memory, to measure the effect of color and divided vs. full attention on a word-stem completion task. In both studies the effect of color was found to be non-significant while the secondary effects (word valence in the first study and attention in the second study) were found to be significant. These studies call into question the idea that color strongly influences cognitive task performance [6]. Color and Psychological Functioning: The Effect of Red on Performance Attainment. This research focuses on the relation between color and psychological functioning, specifically, that between red and performance attainment. Red is hypothesized to impair performance on achievement tasks, because red is associated with the danger of failure in achievement contexts and evokes avoidance motivation. Four experiments demonstrate that the brief perception of red prior to an important test (e.g., an IQ test) impairs performance, and this effect appears to take place outside of participants’ conscious awareness. Two further experiments establish the link between red and avoidance motivation as indicated by behavioral (i.e., task choice) and psychophysiological (i.e., cortical activation) measures. The findings suggest that care must be taken in how red is used in achievement contexts and illustrate how color can act as a subtle environmental cue that has important influences on behavior [7].
Colored walls or partitions cannot provide precise color manipulations because the amount of time participants actually view the colors is completely uncontrolled. In addition, colored lights create highly unusual work environments that likely alter participants’ typical approach to task engagement. Furthermore, the long presentation time of many wall-, partition-, and light-based manipulations (Kwallek et al., 1997) raises the possibility that participants might habituate to or react against the manipulation in such instances [8].
Colors vary in perceived typicality, saturation, and brightness, as well as hue. This variability is not taken into consideration in the existing research, despite the fact that each of these factors can influence participants’ response to hue (Camgoz, Yener, & Guvenc, 2003) [9].
Reading Rainbow: Does Color Play an Important Role in Education? By JoAnna Espique. This study seeks to better education for individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) through testing the use of color saturated educational tools. The hypothesis states that college students will perform better on a reading comprehension test that is printed on cream colored paper than on the same information printed on bright-white paper. One hundred fifty one students from a Midwestern University participated in the study. A 16 item questionnaire and a reading passage were created to test reading comprehension scores. There was one independent variable (paper color) and one dependent variable (test score). In the future, this work could be used to inform elementary education institutes of the use of color-related materials and their positive benefits on ADHD education [10].
“Effects of Color on Memory Encoding and Retrieval in the Classroom” by Jennifer V. Martinez, Crystal D. Oberle, and Jon G. Thompson Jr. of Texas State University. They investigated whether retrieval would be best when study materials and tests are printed on the same colored paper, consistent with the encoding specificity principle. Undergraduates read a passage printed on red or green paper (Experiment 1) or white paper (Experiment 2), and took a test printed on red or green paper (Experiment 1) or white, blue, green, yellow, or pink paper (Experiment 2) [11].
Is it true that color can influence the way a person feels, whether they feel hungry, angry, or calm, further supporting the notion that color can influence a student’s mood while working in the classroom? An in depth look into color and emotional response found that green was found to be a calming, refreshing, beautiful, renewing, and peaceful; whereas red was found to be fiery, spicy, and romantic, both colors leave individuals feeling two different strong emotions (Kaya & Epps, 2004) [12].
Color affects functioning, fatigue, and vision in 5- and 6-year-olds (Leonova, L, et al, 2009) [13].
Jacobs and Blandino (1992)—red causes less fatigue than yellow, blue, green, white Wilson (1966)—red is more arousing than green. Jacobs and Suess (1975)—red and yellow cause more anxiety than do blue or green [1]

REFERENCES:
[1] Winter, J., & Winter, E. A Study of the Effect of Paper Color on Test Performance in Business Communication. Online Course Material. From http://rwahlers.iweb.bsu.edu/abd2009/Papers/p09_winter_winter.pdf
[2] Mehta, R., & Zhu, R. (2009). Blue or Red? Exploring the Effect of Color on Cognitive Task Performances. Science, 323(5918), 1226-1229.
[3] Sinclair, R., Soldat, A., & Mark, M. (1998). Affective cues and processing strategy: Color-coded examination forms influence performance. Teaching of Psychology, 25(2), 130.
[4] Whitfield, T., & Wiltshire, T. (1990). Color psychology: A critical review. Genetic, Social & General Psychology Monographs, 116(4), 387-411.
[5] Michael J. Meyer and Jennifer Bagwell. (2012) The Non-Impact of Paper Color on Exam Performance. Issues in Accounting Education 27:3, 691-706.
[6] Jennifer Olsen (2010, April) The Effect of Color on Conscious and Unconscious Cognition. Cognition and Perception Commons. From http://repository.cmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1079&context=hsshonors
[7] Elliot et al, 2007. Color and Psychological Functioning: The Effect of Red on Performance Attainment. Journal of Experimental Psychology. General Vol. 136, No. 1, 154 –168.
[8] Kwallek, N., & Lewis, C. M. (1990). Effects of environmental color on males and females: A red or white or green office. Applied Ergonomics, 21, 275–278.
[9] Camgoz, N., Yener, C., & Guvenc, D. (2003). Effects of hue, saturation, and brightness: Part 2. Color Research and Application, 29, 20 –28.
[10] Espique, J. Reading Rainbow: Does Color Play an Important Role in Education? Mckendree Journals. From https://www.mckendree.edu/academics/scholars/espique-issue-24.pdf
[11] Martinez, J., Oberle,C., & Thompson Jr., J. (2010). Effects of Color on Memory Encoding and Retrieval in the Classroom. American Journal of Psychological Research. From https://www.mcneese.edu/f/c/597495a6/AJPR%2009-16%20Martinez%2012-21%20rev.pdf
[12] Kaya, N., Epps, H. H., (2004). Relationship between color and emotion: A study of college students. College Student Journal, 38, 396-405
[13] Leonova, L, Lukyanets, G., Makarova, L., Prokofyeva, L., Savvateyeva, S., Tischenko, A. (2009). The effect of the background color of computer programs on the functional state of preschool children working on a computer. Human Physiology. From http://search.ebscohost.com, doi:10.1134/S0362119709020091