VANCOUVER, CANADA, February 6, 2009: If a new study is any guide, the color red can make people’s work more accurate, but blue can make people more creative. In the study, published online Thursday in Science magazine, researchers at the University of British Columbia conducted tests with 600 people to see if cognitive performance varies when people see red or blue. Participants performed tasks with words or images displayed against red, blue or neutral backgrounds on computer screens. Red groups did better on tests of recall and attention to detail, like remembering words or checking spelling and punctuation. Blue groups did better on tests requiring imagination: inventing creative uses for a brick or creating toys from shapes. “If you’re talking about wanting enhanced memory for something like proofreading skills, then a red color should be used,” said Juliet Zhu, an assistant professor of marketing at the university’s business school, who conducted the studies with Ravi Mehta, a doctoral student. For “a brainstorming session for a new product or coming up with a new solution to fight child obesity or teenage smoking, then you should get people into a blue room.”
Interestingly, when the study participants were asked if they believed red or blue would improve performance, most said blue for both detail-oriented and creative tasks. Maybe, Dr. Zhu said, that’s because more people prefer blue. The study did not involve different cultures, like China, where red symbolizes prosperity and luck. And it said nothing about mixing red and blue to make purple. Also, Dr. Schwarz said, color effects can be outweighed by instructions to be accurate or creative in tasks, so color means more when projects can be approached either way.