Abstract
Colors are widely used as feedback in ambient persuasive technology. In current research, we argue that the information that color-based feedback carries is highly context dependent. Two studies investigated effects of context (in which color-based feedback was presented) on user’s interpretation of feedback messages, and more importantly, on the effectiveness of this feedback (for influencing energy conservation behavior). Results of both studies showed that participants perceived the color red in an energy-related context to be warmer and as related to a higher energy consumption level than red in an energy-unrelated context. Also, participants receiving color-based feedback in an energy-related context consumed the lowest amount of energy. These findings extend our insight into the psychological mechanisms of ambient persuasive technology by making clear that ambient stimuli (e.g., color) are part of a broader context (e.g., projected on a radiator) that influences user’s interpretation and the effectiveness of these stimuli.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ford, F.L.: Political Murder: From Tyrannicide to Terrorism. Harvard University Press, Cambridge (1987)
Schneider, W.: Sinn und Un-Sinn: Umwelt Sinnlich Erlebbar Gestalten in Architektur und Design. Bau-Verlag, Berlin (1957)
Barsalou, L.W.: Perceptual symbol systems. Behav. Brain Sci. 22(04), 577–660 (1999)
Helson, H., Blake, R.R., Mouton, J.S., Olmstead, J.A.: Attitudes as adjustments to stimulus, background, and residual factors. J. Abnorm. Soc. Psychol. 52(3), 314 (1956)
Sherif, M.: An Outline of Psychology. Sage Publications, New York (1948)
Zhong, C.B., Leonardelli, G.J.: Cold and lonely does social exclusion literally feel cold? Psychol. Sci. 19(9), 838–842 (2008)
Howell, W.C., Kennedy, P.A.: Field validation of the fanger thermal comfort model. Hum. Factors: J. Hum. Factors Ergon. Soc. 21(2), 229–239 (1979)
Howell, W.C., Stramler, C.S.: Contribution of psychological variables to the prediction of thermal comfort judgments in real world settings. ASHRAE Trans. 87(5), 609–619 (1981). (United States)
Stramler, C.S., Kleiss, J.A., Howell, W.C.: Thermal sensation shifts induced by physical and psychological means. J. Appl. Psychol. 68(1), 187 (1983)
Strack, F., Deutsch, R.: Acting green elicits a literal warm glow. Nat. Clim. Change 5, 37–40 (2014)
Tofle, R.B., Schwarz, B., Yoon, S.Y., Max-Royale, A., Des, M., Thanks, S.: Color in healthcare environments-a research report (2004)
Elliot, A.J., Maier, M.A., Moller, A.C., Friedman, R., Meinhardt, J.: Color and psychological functioning: The effect of red on performance attainment. J. Exp. Psychol.: Gen. 136(1), 154–168 (2007)
Bennett, C.A., Rey, P.: What’s so hot about red? Hum. Factors: J. Hum. Factors Ergon. Soc. 14(2), 149–154 (1972)
Fanger, P., Breum, N., Jerking, E.: Can colour and noise influence man’s thermal comfort? Ergon. 20(1), 11–18 (1977)
Winzen, J., Albers, F., Marggraf-Micheel, C.: The influence of coloured light in the aircraft cabin on passenger thermal comfort. Lighting Research and Technology 1477153513484028 (2013)
Candas, V., Dufour, A.: Thermal comfort: multisensory interactions? J. Physiol. Anthropol. Appl. Hum. Sci. 24(1), 33–36 (2005)
Ho, H.N., Iwai, D., Yoshikawa, Y., Watanabe, J., Nishida, S.: Combining colour and temperature: A blue object is more likely to be judged as warm than a red object. Sci. Rep., vol. 4 (2014)
Berry, P.C.: Effect of colored illumination upon perceived temperature. J. Appl. Psychol. 45(4), 248 (1961)
Jacobs, K.W., Suess, J.F.: Effects of four psychological primary colors on anxiety state. Percept. Motor Skills 41(1), 207–210 (1975)
Yoto, A., Katsuura, T., Iwanaga, K., Shimomura, Y.: Effects of object color stimuli on human brain activities in perception and attention referred to eeg alpha band response. J. Physiol. Anthropol. 26(3), 373–379 (2007)
Mehta, R., Zhu, R.: Blue or Red? Exploring the effect of color on cognitive task performances. Sci. 323, 1226–1229 (2008)
Kwallek, N., Lewis, C.M., Robbins, A.S.: Effects of office interior color on workers’ mood and productivity. Percept. Motor Skills 66(1), 123–128 (1988)
Soldat, A.S., Sinclair, R.C., Mark, M.M.: Color as an environmental processing cue: External affective cues can directly affect processing strategy without affecting mood. Soc. Cogn. 15(1), 55–71 (1997)
Etnier, J.L., Hardy, C.J.: The effects of environmental color. J. Sport Behav. 20(3), 299 (1997)
Ainsworth, R.A., Simpson, L., Cassell, D.: Effects of three colors in an office interior on mood and performance. Percept. Motor Skills 76(1), 235–241 (1993)
Kaya, N., Epps, H.: Relationship between color and emotion: A study of college students. Coll. Student J. 38(3), 396 (2004)
O’Connor, Z.: Colour psychology and colour therapy: caveat emptor. Color Res. Appl. 36(3), 229–234 (2011)
Elliot, A.J., Maier, M.A.: Color-in-context theory. Adv. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 45, 61–125 (2012)
Fogg, B.: Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do. Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco (2003)
Arroyo, E., Bonanni, L., Selker, T.: Waterbot : Exploring Feedback and Persuasive Techniques at the Sink. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 631–639 (2005)
Midden, C., Kaiser, F.G., Mccalley, L.T.: Technology’s four roles in understanding individuals’ conservation of natural resources. J. Soc. Issues 63(1), 155–174 (2007)
Maan, S., Merkus, B., Ham, J., Midden, C.: Making it not too obvious: The effect of ambient light feedback on space heating energy consumption. Energy Effi. 4(2), 175–183 (2011)
Jentsch, M., Jahn, M., Pramudianto, F., Simon, J., Al-Akkad, A.: An energy-saving support system for office environments. In: Salah, A.A., Lepri, B. (eds.) HBU 2011. LNCS, vol. 7065, pp. 83–92. Springer, Heidelberg (2011)
Merkus, B., Ham, J., Midden, C.: A Shower Meter to Save Water and Energy : the Influence of Two Feedback Sources, Goals, and the Role of Comfort on Conservation Behavior in a Lab and Field Experiment in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Human. Ph.D. thesis (2012)
Midden, C., Kimura, H., Ham, J., Nakajima, T., Kleppe, M.: Persuasive power in groups: the influence of group feedback and individual comparison feedback on energy consumption behavior. In: Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Persuasive Technology: Persuasive Technology and Design: Enhancing Sustainability and Health, p. 1. ACM (2011)
Ham, J., Midden, C.: A persuasive robotic agent to save energy: the influence of social feedback, feedback valence and task similarity on energy conservation behavior. In: Ge, S.S., Li, H., Cabibihan, J.-J., Tan, Y.K. (eds.) ICSR 2010. LNCS, vol. 6414, pp. 335–344. Springer, Heidelberg (2010)
Lu, S., Ham, J., Midden, C.J.H.: Using ambient lighting in persuasive communication: the role of pre-existing color associations. In: Spagnolli, A., Chittaro, L., Gamberini, L. (eds.) PERSUASIVE 2014. LNCS, vol. 8462, pp. 167–178. Springer, Heidelberg (2014)
Busch, M., Schrammel, J., Flu, M.A., Kruijff, E., Tscheligi, M.: Persuasive strategies report. CURE-Center for Usability Research & Engineering (2012)
Becker, L.J., Seligman, C., Fazio, R.H., Darley, J.M.: Relating attitudes to residential energy use. Environ. Behav. 13(5), 590–609 (1981)
Heijs, W., Stringer, P.: Research on residential thermal comfort: Some contributions from environmental psychology. J. Environ. Psychol. 8, 235–247 (1988)
Lu, S., Ham, J., Midden, C.: Persuasive technology based on bodily comfort experiences: the effect of color temperature of room lighting on user motivation to change room temperature. In: MacTavish, T., Basapur, S. (eds.) PERSUASIVE 2015. LNCS, vol. 9072, pp. 83–94. Springer, Heidelberg (2015)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this paper
Cite this paper
Lu, S., Ham, J., Midden, C. (2016). Red Radiators Versus Red Tulips: The Influence of Context on the Interpretation and Effectiveness of Color-Based Ambient Persuasive Technology. In: Meschtscherjakov, A., De Ruyter, B., Fuchsberger, V., Murer, M., Tscheligi, M. (eds) Persuasive Technology. PERSUASIVE 2016. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 9638. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31510-2_26
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31510-2_26
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31509-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31510-2
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)