The subjects were asked to pick their most preferred color and their least preferred color of the four given. Blue was chosen as the most preferred color among both sexes. In the younger group the order from most preferred to least preferred was blue, red, green, then yellow. For the older group the order of color preference from most preferred to least preferred was blue, green, red, then yellow. Yellow was the least preferred color in both groups. In this study it shows that gender doesn’t make a difference in color preference. It was age that was the divider (Dittmar, 2001).
However, this study leaves a lot of room for changes for more consistent and accurate studies. Once again there was an uneven amount of male and female participants in the study which in turn begs to question whether or not the data collected is accurate or significant. The study did not represent a certain color or shade of the color so it was up to the participant to determine what they likes which leaves too much room for participant’s creativity. There was also an age gap from 44 to 52 years of age. The fact that there was not a consistent color or colors to choose from leaves room for error.
Lange and Rentfrow referenced a study done by Stone on Designing Effective Study Environments showing that the mood of workers tended to be much more positive when working in a blue environment rather than a red one. The arousal of the individual was much higher when working in the red environment so that when they were asked to do a more thrilling task the red color interfered with their performance. Lange and Rentfrow also referenced Luscher and Scott on their studies of Personality and their color test. Their findings found that introverted people, i.e. people with high internal arousal, preferred much cooler colors like blues and greens because they reduced their inner arousal. On the flip side, extroverts, i.e. people with low internal arousal, were drawn to warmer colors such as reds and oranges to increase their inner arousal. Lange and Rentfrow also state that readers read slower and comprehend less when reading in a red environment. This suggests that color effects cognitive arousal which in turn can effect, or even hinder, cognitive performance.
Looking at the Murray and Deabler’s study on mood-tones, their results indicated the association between mood and color. Their cross-regional study that corresponded with an earlier study by Wexner, proved that Americans across the board associate colors to moods, however, not always in the same way. The subjects were given a set list of words and a set of eight colors in the form of 8.5x11 inch pieces of paper, they were then asked to select the color that best represents the word in the word list. Both Wexner and Murray and Deabler’s studies had variations and differences, but they also had some definite similarities. Blue and green were consistent among both studies. The participants overwhelmingly related these two colors with the words Secure, Tender and Calm. These colors were also somewhat systematically not relevant to the word Defiant. Contrasting evidence showed that Red was most correlated with Defiant, Cheerful, Exciting, and Powerful and was by and large not associated with Secure, Tender, and Calm. Indicating that certain colors correspond with certain moods and those certain colors elicit the same strong emotional responses consistently among different groups of people.
Leon, Gillum, Gillum, and Gouze concentrated a portion of her research to looking at personality stability. Her longitudinal study obtained substantial evidence towards personality stability on an individual level. Using the MMPI, she gathered data 4 different times from the same 71 men over a 40 year period. The group of emotionally stable and physically healthy men was reported, in her study, to have a significant degree of personality stability over the 40 years span. The MMPI scores of the men’s tests were fairly consistent with some minor fluctuations, supporting that personality is stable over time.
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