How seeing red can reverse your thinking

The colour red has some traditional associations. It is used on signs, such as stop signs, to signify “go no further” and is used in marking exams and essays to suggest that “penalties apply”. Unfortunately though, according to a new study, red might signify something quite different to a section of the population.

For the study, researchers addressed the problem of prank calls to a child helpline, aimed at kids aged 8 to 18. In the study, callers were exposed to a screen while they waited that was either white, red, or blue. The results showed that prank chatting followed 22 per cent of the time when the screen was red compared to 15 per cent of the time for both white and blue.

The results showed that prank chatting followed 22 per cent of the time when the screen was red compared to 15 per cent of the time for both white and blue.

In a follow up study, the researchers gave university students a personality questionnaire. Then they answered questions to evaluate their attitude to compliant behaviour. The questions for this second section were presented on either a white or red screen.

The results showed that people who scored high on “sensation seeking” and who saw the questions on a red background preferred statements that were resistant to compliant behaviour that followed rules. This did not happen when they saw a white background.

So while the colour red may lead to more compliant behaviour for most people (as other studies have shown) it seems that for sensation seekers the effect is reversed.

This has implications for the colours we need to use for health campaigns related to anti-smoking and safe sex but also for the colour of signs we might want to use saying things like, “stay away from the edge”.