Perceptions of Positive or Negative Affect due to Background Color

Start Date

April 2020

End Date

April 2020

Major Field of Study

Psychology

Student Type

Undergraduate - Honors

Faculty Mentor(s)

William Phillips, PhD

Presentation Format

Poster Presentation

Abstract/Description

The purpose of the present study is to examine the influence of color-emotion associations on judgment of facial expressions. Gil and Bigot (2014) examined positive meanings of green and pink on facial perception. Images of 5 faces, which changed from a neutral expression to happiness or sadness, were displayed in the center of a green, pink, grey or white background. Participants completed an emotional facial recognition task, to decide if the facial expression portrayed an emotion or neutrality, and rated background colors on their emotional associations. Results showed that pink and green backgrounds, positively-associated colors, prompted more recognition of happy faces. These findings show that color-emotional associations influence facial expression processing. For this survey, participants will be asked questions from the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule- Modified (PANAS-M) for 1 of 6 randomly selected images of a neutral or smiling face on a grey, red, or blue background. PANAS-M measures positive and negative emotions; higher scores indicate that the photographed individual has more extreme experiences with a positive or negative trait. The participant will also be asked a demographic question for colorblindness. The present study will examine the relationship between background colors and perceived emotions in facial expressions. A positively-associated background color (blue) will influence participant’s perceptions of a neutral and happy expression as more positive, while a negatively-associated background color (red) will influence participant’s perceptions of these expressions as more negative. Data collection is in progress and about 160 participants are expected for the study.

Comments

This presentation was accepted for the Scholarly and Creative Works Conference at Dominican University of California. The Conference was canceled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic

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Apr 22nd, 10:00 AM Apr 22nd, 8:00 PM

Perceptions of Positive or Negative Affect due to Background Color

The purpose of the present study is to examine the influence of color-emotion associations on judgment of facial expressions. Gil and Bigot (2014) examined positive meanings of green and pink on facial perception. Images of 5 faces, which changed from a neutral expression to happiness or sadness, were displayed in the center of a green, pink, grey or white background. Participants completed an emotional facial recognition task, to decide if the facial expression portrayed an emotion or neutrality, and rated background colors on their emotional associations. Results showed that pink and green backgrounds, positively-associated colors, prompted more recognition of happy faces. These findings show that color-emotional associations influence facial expression processing. For this survey, participants will be asked questions from the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule- Modified (PANAS-M) for 1 of 6 randomly selected images of a neutral or smiling face on a grey, red, or blue background. PANAS-M measures positive and negative emotions; higher scores indicate that the photographed individual has more extreme experiences with a positive or negative trait. The participant will also be asked a demographic question for colorblindness. The present study will examine the relationship between background colors and perceived emotions in facial expressions. A positively-associated background color (blue) will influence participant’s perceptions of a neutral and happy expression as more positive, while a negatively-associated background color (red) will influence participant’s perceptions of these expressions as more negative. Data collection is in progress and about 160 participants are expected for the study.