Kristin's Research Summary 1
My group is currently looking into how different types of distractions, such as auditory, brightness, cell phone usage, ipod or MP3 player usage, etc… can interrupt efficient cognitive processing. All of the group members have opted to take a subdivision of the topic and I was assigned to research how bright lights and colors may potentially interrupt cognition and information processing.
Variables such as perception and attention have a major impact on cognitive processing dealing with vision. Perception, in simple terms is the way you view something, and receive it. Attention determines the perception someone may have. Being able to perceive things without actually seeing them is possible. They enter the brain subconsciously but if someone is focusing on something or looking for something, their perception is more detailed and they retain more information for later processing.
Because my topic concerns brightness and color, vision is the sensory system that is associated with this type of processing. Different types of visual problems may interrupt cognitive processing. Nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and cataracts are obvious, common vision problems that may lessen the amount of information obtained. But another problem that is less common, is colorblindness. This disease is carried on the ‘X’ chromosome and is a genetic disorder more likely in men than in women. Those diagnosed with this problem are “missing 1 or more of the cells that detect colors (aka photoreceptors)” (Scanlon). There are different severities of the disease, for example one type allows only red/green vision. On the surface, this looks like it may be a big downfall. On a more positive note though, colorblindness proves to be an asset. In WWII, teams were gathered to analyze aerial photographs. Those with colorblind people on their teams were found to be more successful in identifying things. The University of Calgary found that “colorblind monkeys are better at hunting insects presumably because they can see through the insects camouflage” (Scanlon). Scanlon suggests that “under some circumstances colors can be distracting and actually detract from our ability to see subtle variations in texture and brightness.”
Texture and brightness have a big influence on attention. Another article having to do with research done in retail stores showed that brightness influenced how comfortable people were in certain environments. For example, older adults were more comfortable in bright environments than younger adults. This was found to be in response to the change in the shape of the eye as people age. When finding different sources for light, “designers, architects, and other individuals involved in lighting are typically concerned with color temperature (how warm a hue is) and color rendering (the effect the light source has on an object)” (Hedge & Woodson) Going along with brightness, colors—the hue, saturation, and contrast—have a role to play in grabbing people’s attention. The colors of signs (background as well as print) made people more apt to pay attention or buy something.
The research we have done on this topic so far, will add to previous research. Our group is doing a compilation of different types of distractions. This is different from other experimental studies because they focus on one type of distraction and we are doing a broad review of many. As a result of my research, thus far, I have found that many things contribute to perceptions of various objects. Therefore there could be many ways of distracting cognitive thinking and processing. This may lead to a small experiment somewhere along the line dealing with some aspect of visual perception and cognitive processing. I thought it was interesting that different colors affect how people react to things and different lighting really does set the mood for a room. I think doing more research on those topics would be a good lead for my division of the project.
Hedge, A.L., Woodson, H. (1999). Effects of light source, illuminance, and hue on visual contrast. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 28, (217-237).
Park, N.K., Farr, C.A., (2007). Retail store lighting for elderly consumers: an experimental approach. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal,35, (316-337).
Scanlon, M. (2008). The colorblind advantage. http://www.luminoscity.com/blog/brain_health/index.html. 12 Feb 2007.
