Effect of Viewing Selected Colors on the Performance of Gross and Fine Motor Tasks

There has been interest recently in the association between emotinal tone and color (I), personality, color, and gross motor skill performance (3) and the effects of different colored balls and background on catching (2). There appear to be no recent studies of the effects of color on motor performance wherein arousal is assumed to be the intervening variable. This study tested the effects of viewing colors on motor performance assuming performance variations within subjects would result from fluctuations in arousal state associated with visual exposure to different colors. Subjects were 30 volunteers none of whom were color blind nor had any previous experience on the rotary pursuit. The dependent variables were strength as measured by the grip dynamometer, power as measured by the vettical jump, and precision as measured by the Lafayerte Model 2203 rotary pursuit apparatus. The independent variables were the colors red, blue, and pink under each of which the subject performed three trials on each of the three tasks; grip suength, vertical jump, and rotary pursuit. The order of the colors was random. One-way analyses of variance were utilized to determine whether color affected performance on the three tasks. There were no significant differences in performance while viewing different light conditions for the vertical jump and rotary pursuit tasks (20-sec. trials at 60 rpm). The mean vertical jump ranged from 42.68 to 42.97 in. The means for the rotary pursuit were 7.82, 7.63, and 7.23 sec. on target after viewing red, blue, and pink colors, respeaively. A significant difference was found among the colors for grip suength. The Scheffe test for multiple comparisons was used to compare the individual means. The mean grip strength, 40.13 kg., was significantly higher after viewing the illuminated wall than after viewing the blue illuminated wall (M = 38.48 kg., p < .04). Similarly, the mean grip strength after viewing the illuminated wall was significantly higher than the mean after viewing the pink illuminated wall. The means were 40.13 and 38.17, respectively (fi < .09). There was no difference between means for suength after viewing blue and pink illuminated walls. Also, there were no effects for trials. It may be beneficial for participants in strength events to see red immediately before competing. Perhaps light should also be viewed during actual events requiring strength!