Influence of Red and Blue Virtual Environments During a Listening Evaluation: A Preliminary Study of Academic Performance and Subjective Self-Perception

Abstract

Color and lighting have been shown to influence human physiology and may affect cognitive performance. Some theories suggest that blue back-ground colors promote relaxation and concentration, whereas red colors induce arousal and alertness. However, empirical evidence remains inconclusive due to variations in experimental designs and task types, making it unclear how color ultimately affects cognitive performance. The aim of this preliminary study is to compare performance and subjective self-perception throughout a listening eval-uation and to determine whether red or blue colors yield differences in perfor-mance. We conducted a study in which university students completed five listen-ing tests within a red or blue virtual environment and answered questions about their subjective self-perception at the beginning and end of the experiment. Our results showed that: i) students in an environment characterized by a blue color obtained higher median performance (6.8 vs. 6.0) as time progressed during the evaluation; ii) medium positive correlations were found in the blue group (0.36 and 0.36) between the performance-attention and performance-relaxation that ex-ceeded that of the red group; iii) a medium negative correlation was discovered in the red group (-0.48) between the performance-mental effort that exceeded that of the blue group. The preliminary findings of this study could suggest that a blue environment may facilitate relaxation and attentional focus, which could enhance performance. Despite the modest sample size, these findings underscore the ne-cessity for additional research to determine the true impact of color on academic performance, with potential implications for educational settings and academic institutions.