Studying the Effects of Colors Within Virtual Reality (VR) on Psychological and Physical Behavior

Abstract

Color theory is an important aspect of today's world, especially when consideringuser design, technology, and art. The primary objective of this thesis is to examine how the color groups, warm and cool, affect individuals psychologically and physiologically. While combining technological advancements, physiological methods, and psychological analyses, I will try to discover the emotional associations with specific color groups and determine the psychological and physiological impact of color groups on individuals. I hypothesize that warm colors will increase heart rate and skin conductance response, which will directly correlate to emotions of stress and excitement, and cool colors will decrease heart rate and skin conductance, which is associated with the emotions of calmness and positivity. This study demonstrated that the two-color groups exhibited a notable influence on heart rate. Using the skin conductance response method yielded unanticipated results in comparison to prior research. Prior studies have shown that there is a relationship between heart rate and skin conductance response, and therefore, if one increases, then the other should also increase. This study found that when the heart rate increased, many participants experienced a decrease in skin conductance response, showcasing a contrast in physiological reaction. Furthermore, the study demonstrated a correlation between physiological changes, such as heart rate variations, and corresponding changes in participants' psychological behavior.