Effects Ball and Background Color Have upon the Catching Performance of Elementary School Children

Subjects in grades 2, 4, and 6 were asked to attempt to catch plastic balls in three colors—blue, yellow, and white—against two different colored backgrounds—white and black. A 5-point catching scale was used to evaluate each catch attempt. It was hypothesized that neither ball color nor background color would influence the catching performance of elementary youngsters. The older youngsters performed significantly better on the catching tasks. Blue and yellow balls produced significantly higher catching scores than the white balls. The significance of interaction effects suggested that various combinations of ball color and background color produced high catching scores. Blue balls projected against white background produced the highest catching score.