Yellow (Lens) Better: Bioelectrical and Biometrical Measures to Assess Arousing and Focusing Effects

Colours can induce several psychological effects, conditioning perceptions, cognitive/emotional states and human performances. In this exploratory study we investigated the effect of a yellow light exposure, obtained filtering the ambient light with coloured glasses, on the human's psychological functioning. In particular we wanted to assess if people are more able to focus when exposed to a yellow light. We recorded EEG, SC, HR and gaze-related data from 16 subjects (50% split in experimental and control group) during the execution of a reactivity test (the Hazard Perception Test, HPT). Compared with the control group, the experimental group showed increases in concentration, focus, visual attention and arousal, as measured by increases of first fixation duration and Beta over-Alpha ratio (BAR) as well as by decreases of distraction, workload, and number of gaze revisits.