This research was conducted as part of the Practical course in the Department of Psychology, University of Dhaka. This study was conducted by Durjoy Pramanik Dipto, under supervision of Mushrat Alam Shama (Lecturer), Department of Psychology, University of Dhaka.

Effect of primary colors on area perception

Department of Psychology, University of Dhaka.

 Durjoy Pramanik Dipto, 
Student of Psychology, University of Dhaka.
Mushrat Alam Shama (Lecturer), 
Department of Psychology, University of Dhaka.

Introduction

    Perception is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment (Schacter & Daniel, 2011). The word perception is come from the Latin word "perceptio" which mean's gathering and receiving. Robert S. Feldman defines perception as the starting out, interpretation, analysis, and integration of stimuli by the sense organs and brain.

The primary function of perception is to help us make sense of information. Perception allows us to impose a logic and order on the chaos of the millions of stimuli that bombard our senses. The processes of perception are divided into three parts: selection, organization and interpretation.

Area perception refers to the ability to perceive the size or extent of an object or space. It involves the cognitive processes by which individuals interpret visual information to make judgements about the size of objects.

Primary colors are the set of colors that cannot be created by mixing other colors together. In traditional color theory, the primary colors are red, blue and yellow.

The visual system is the psychological basis of visual perception. Visual perception is the ability to detect and process light. The system detects and interprets information about light to construct an image and build a mental model of the surrounding environment.

Color perception involves a processing steam that indicates cones in the retina color opponent responses in the retinal ganglion cells, and a network of temporal areas that underline the emergence of a stable color percept.

 

Literature Review

    Petra Thorpert, Jan-Eric Englund and Anders Busse Nielsen (2018) studied how artefacts with primary colors yellow, red and blue influence human perceptions of the color of greenery. The result showed that by changing the primary color and its shapes, size and positions, the perceived green hue was altered. This theory is widely supported by colour theory.

Palmer and Schloss (2018) shows that warm color tend to create a visual impression of increase proximity and larger size. On the other hand, cool color have been associated with a perception of greater distance and reduced size. Here, warm colors are red and orange, and cool colors are blue and green (Johnson, 2015).

In (2017) Nattha Savavibool and Chumporn studied how color, area, height Influence space perception. The result of the study shows that variations in space, perception were significantly associated with the difference in color, area and height.

Koenderink et al. (2015) conducted a study to examine how hue differences can evoke impressions of depth order. Participants were presented with images composed of randomly filled polygons in various color pairs. The study found that certain hues were consistently perceived as being closer or farther away, suggesting that color hue can influence depth perception. Notably, the study also observed that the lower part of an image was more likely to be perceived as closer, indicating a positional bias in depth perception.

Do et al. (2020) explored how various factors, including color and luminance, affect depth perception in augmented reality (AR) environments. Their findings revealed that bright colors, particularly bright red, are perceived as nearer than darker colors, regardless of hue. This effect was more pronounced in high-fidelity, simple 3D objects, suggesting that object fidelity interacts with color and luminance to influence depth perception in AR settings.

Bailey, Grimm, and Davoli (2006) investigated how warm and cool colors affect perceived depth in realistic, colored objects. The study found that warm-colored stimuli tend to appear nearer in depth than cool-colored stimuli. Additionally, the strength of this effect increased when the colored stimuli were presented against darker backgrounds, highlighting the role of background luminance in depth perception.

A study published in Buildings (2023) examined how color influences perception in architectural and urban environments. The research highlighted that colors can affect perceptions of warmth, distance, and spatial dynamics. For instance, warm colors can make spaces feel more intimate, while cool colors can create a sense of openness. The study also emphasized that color perception is influenced by environmental factors such as lighting conditions and cultural context.

Objective

    The objective of this study was to find out whether colors can effect our perception of area.

Hypothesis

    hypothesis of this study was that red rectangles are perceived bigger.

Variables

    Here in this study, the independent variable was the color of rectangles and the dependent variable was the perception of the area of the rectangle.

Theoretical Rationale

    The perception of space and area is a complex interplay between physiological processes, cognitive mechanisms, and cultural influences. Color, being a fundamental aspect of visual perception, plays an important role in shaping our understanding of spatial relationships. The exploration of how color affects human perception is grounded in the broader framework of cognitive psychology and visual perception. At its core, this research unravels the interplay between sensory stimuli and mental processes. Gestalt laws tend to organize visual stimuli into meaningful patterns, and colors play an important role in shaping perceptual organizations.

One of the important applications of this concept is in traffic lights. Traffic lights, with their prominent use of red, yellow, and green colors, provide a real-world application of color psychology. The use of red as the color for stop signals aligns with its ability to command attention and convey urgency. By understanding how primary colors influence area perception, traffic light designers can optimize signal visibility and effectiveness. For instance, ensuring that red signals are sufficiently large and prominent can enhance drivers' ability to perceive and respond to stop signals quickly, thereby improving traffic lights and safety.

 

Method

Participant

    An adult 22 years old male participant was selected to conduct the experiment. His visionary system was all good and he had no physical complexities.

Appartus

    The apparatus used for this experiment were a black screan, computer, calculator, pen, and paper.

Design

    For this experiment within subject design was used. Within subject design is one kind of design where all participants are exposed to every treatment or conditions.

Number of trials

Area Perception

 

Large

Medium

Small

1

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

4

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

35

 

 

 

36

 

 

 
Table 01: The design table for the effect of primary colors on the area perception.

Procedure

    To conduct this experiment, a male participant was selected. First, he was welcomed into the psychology laboratory. He was instructed to sit in front of the computer. Then, he was given a detailed explanation of the entire experimental procedure. After that, the next phase of the experiment began.

On the computer screen, three rectangles were displayed, each in one of the three primary colors. The participant was asked to identify the large, medium, and small rectangles. There were 36 trials in total. The duration of each trial was 2.5 seconds. The responses were documented in a data sheet.

After completing all 36 trials, the participant was asked to share his experience on a comment sheet. He mentioned that he enjoyed the entire process and had a new experience. Following this, he was thanked and escorted him out of the laboratory.


Result

    The experiment was conducted on a single subject. The purpose of this study was to find out the effect of primary colors on area perception.

From the data sheet we can see that among 36 trials, in 17 of them participant perceived the red as larger. Which means 47.22% of the time he found red as a big one. The blue was perceived larger 16 times and yellow 03 times.

percentage of red rectangle perceived to be largest: (17/36) X 100% = 47.22%

Percentage of blue rectangle perceived to be largest: (16/36) X 100% = 44.44%.

Percentage of yellow rectangle perceived to be largest: (03/36) X 100% = 8.33%

 

Red

Blue

Yellow

Number of rectangles perceived to be large

17

16

03

Percentage of rectangles perceived to be large

47.22%

44.44%

8.33%
Table 02: Percentage of rectangle perceived to be large

Discussion

        The name of the experiment was the "effect of primary colors on the area perception." This experiment investigated whether primary colors red, blue, and yellow had any effect on the perception of area. Hypothesis was formed to know this effect. The hypothesis of this experiment was that red rectangles were perceived bigger.

Within subject design was used for this experiment. There was only one participant and he was asked to identify the large, medium and small rectangle which were shown in the computer. The color of those rectangles were red, blue and yellow.

After observing the result of this experiment, we can see that among 36 trials, in 17 the red is perceived as a big one. So, it was clear that red was perceived bigger which was one of the primary color. Hence, hypothesis is confirmed. The percentage of red perceived to be large was 47.22%.

The results are in accord with the previous researches those were conducted. Pedra Thorpert, Jan-Eric Englund and Anders (2018) showed that primary colors red, blue and yellow had influence on human perception. In (2014) Nattha and Chumporn showed color, area and height influence space perception.

So, from the results and evidence reports we can come to the conclusion that primary color has an effect on area perception. In the primary color red is perceived as bigger. Hence, the hypothesis is confirmed.


Summary

    This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of primary colors on area perception. The objective was to determine whether colors can affect our perception of area. This experiment was carried out using a within-subject design. One male participant was used for this experiment. The hypothesis of the experiment was that red rectangles would be perceived as larger. A total of 36 trials were conducted in this experiment. The percentage of red perceived as large was 47.22%. Therefore, based on this result, we can conclude that primary colors affect our perception of area, and the hypothesis was confirmed.

Reference

Bailey, R., Grimm, C., & Davoli, C. (2006). The real effect of warm-cool colors on depth ordering. Washington University in St. Louis.

Di Maio, V., & Lánský, P. (1990). Area perception in simple geometrical figures. Perceptual and motor skills, 71(2), 459–466. https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.1990.71.2.459

Do, H., Lee, S., & Woo, W. (2020). The effects of object shape, fidelity, color, and luminance on depth perception in handheld mobile augmented reality. arXiv preprint arXiv:2008.05505.

Feldman, R. S. (2019). Understanding psychology (14th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Jaglarz, A. (2023). Perception of Color in Architecture and Urban Space. Buildings, 13(8), 2000. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13082000

Koenderink, J., van Doorn, A., Albertazzi, L., & Wagemans, J. (2015). Hue Contrast and the Sense of Space. I-Perception, 6(2), 67-85. https://doi.org/10.1068/i0701 (Original work published 2015)

Maio, V. D., & Lánský, P. (1990). Area Perception in Simple Geometrical Figures. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 71(2), 459-466. https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.1990.71.2.459 (Original work published 1990)

Savavibool, N., & Moorapun, C. (2017). Effects of Colour, Area, and Height on Space Perception. Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal, 2(6), 351–359. https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v2i6.978

Schacter, D. L. (2011). Psychology. Worth Publishers.

S.E. Palmer, & K.B. Schloss, An ecological valence theory of human color preference, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 107 (19) 8877-8882, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0906172107 (2010).

Shuai Chang, David E. Lewis, Joel Pearson; The functional effects of color perception and color imagery. Journal of Vision 2013;13(10):4. https://doi.org/10.1167/13.10.4.

Thorpert, P., Englund, J. E., & Nielsen, A. B. (2018). The impact of the primary colours yellow, red and, blue on the perception of greenery. Landscape Research, 44(1), 88–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2017.1413177