Differential binding of colors to objects in memory: red and yellow stick better than blue and green

Frontiers in Psychology
Christof KuhbandnerReinhard Pekrun

Abstract

Both evolutionary considerations and recent research suggest that the color red serves as a signal indicating an object's importance. However, until now, there is no evidence that this signaling function of red is also reflected in human memory. To examine the effect of red on memory, we conducted four experiments in which we presented objects colored in four different colors (red, green, blue, and yellow) and measured later memory for the presence of an object and for the color of an object. Across experiments, we varied the type of objects (words vs. pictures), task complexity (single objects vs. multiple objects in visual scenes), and intentionality of encoding (intentional vs. incidental learning). Memory for the presence of an object was not influenced by color. However, in all four experiments, memory for the color of an object depended on color type and was particularly high for red and yellow-colored objects and particularly low for green-colored objects, indicating that the binding of colors into object memory representations varies as a function of color type. Analyzing the observers' confidence in their color memories revealed that color not only influenced objective memory performance but also subjective confidence....Continue Reading

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Citations

Oct 20, 2018·Nursing Education Perspectives·Michele A Hannon, Roberta A Raymond
Jan 4, 2021·Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology : the Official Journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists·Justin C KoenitzerJerilyn Christensen

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