Skip to main content
Search
Search
    Quick Search anywhere
    Quick search in Citations
Advanced Search
Skip main navigationClose Drawer MenuOpen Drawer Menu
Previous article
Next article
Original Article

Impression Formation Online

How Web Page Colors Can Interact With Physical Temperature

Published Online:November 19, 2012https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000070

Abstract

Sensations of physical temperature can serve as a peripheral cue when some individuals interact with communication technology, but this phenomenon has been shown to occur only when individuals were engaged in peripheral-route associative processing. In an experiment (N = 211) with physical temperature and Web page color as between-subjects factors and need for cognition as a measured independent variable, participants viewed an organization’s Web page. Cognitive misers who experienced physical cold (versus warmth) reported less favorable attitudes toward the Web page. This interaction disappeared, however, when they viewed a Web page that featured a red color scheme, as red seemed to have stimulated an increase in central-route analytic cognitive processing. This pattern of results illustrates the utility of the elaboration likelihood model in studying impression formation in online contexts.

References

  • Aiken, L. S. , West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Asch, S. E. (1946). Forming impressions of personality. Journal of Abnormal Social Psychology, 42, 258–290. doi: 10.1037/h0055756 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Bellizzi, J. A. , Crowley, A. E. , Hasty, R. W. (1983). The effects of color in store design. Journal of Retailing, 59, 21–45. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Booth-Butterfield, S. , Welbourne, J. (2002). The Elaboration Likelihood Model: Its impact on persuasion theory and research. In J. P. Dillard, M. Pfau, (Eds.), The Persuasion handbook: Developments in theory and practice (pp. 155–173). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Briñol, P. , Petty, R. E. (2008). Embodied persuasion: Fundamental processes by which bodily responses can impact attitudes. In G. R. Semin, E. R. Smith, (Eds.), Embodied grounding: Social, cognitive, affective, and neuroscientific approaches (pp. 184–207). New York: Cambridge University Press. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Cacioppo, J. T. , Petty, R. E. , Feinstein, J. A. , Jarvis, W. B. G. (1996). Dispositional differences in cognitive motivation: The life and times of individuals varying in need for cognition. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 197–253. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.119.2.197 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Cacioppo, J. T. , Petty, R. E. , Kao, C. F. (1984). The efficient assessment of need for cognition. Journal of Personality Assessment, 48, 306–1207. doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa4803_13 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Cajochen, C. , Frey, S. , Anders, D. , Spati, J. , Bues, M. , Pross, A. , … Stefani, O. (2011). Evening exposure to light-emitting diodes (LED)-backlit computer screen affects circadian physiology and cognitive performance. Journal of Applied Physiology, 110, 1432–1438. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00165.2011 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Chellappa, S. L. , Steiner, R. , Blattner, P. , Oelhafen, P. , Götz, T. , Cajochen, C. (2012). Non-visual effects of light on melatonin, alertness, and cognitive performance: Can blue-enriched light keep us alert? PLoS One, 6, e16429 doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016429 First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Crowley, A. E. (1993). The two-dimensional impact of color on shopping. Marketing Letters, 4, 59–69. doi: 10.1007/BF00994188 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • de Bruin, E. N. M. , van Lange, P. A. M. (1999). Impression formation and cooperative behavior. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 305–328. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-0992(199903/05)29:2/3<305::AID-EJSP929>3.0.CO;2-R First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • de Bruin, E. N. M. , van Lange, P. A. M. (2000). What people look for in others: Influences of the perceiver and the perceived on information selection. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 206–219. doi: 10.1177/0146167200264007 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Earle, T. C. , Siegrist, M. (2006). Morality information, performance information, and the distinction between trust and confidence. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 26, 383–416. doi: 10.1111/j.0021-9029.2006.00012.x First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Elliot, A. J. , Maier, M. A. , Moller, A. C. , Friedman, R. , Meinhardt, J. (2007). Color and psychological functioning: The effect of red on performance attainment. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 136(1), 154–168. doi: 10.1037/0096-3445.136.1.154 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Elliot, A. J. , Niesta, D. (2008). Romantic red: Red enhances men’s attraction to women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 1150–1164. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.95.5.1150 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Fiske, S. T. , Cuddy, A. J. C. , Glick, P. (2007). Universal dimensions of social cognition: Warmth and competence. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11, 77–83. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2006.11.005 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Fogg, B. J. , Lee, E. , Marshall, J. (2002). Interactive technology and persuasion. In J. P. Dillard, M. Pfau, (Eds.), The persuasion handbook: Developments in theory and practice (pp. 765–788). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Fogg, B. J. , Marshall, J. , Laraki, O. , Osipovich, A. , Varma, C. , Fang, N. , Treinen, M. (2001). What makes Web sites credible? A report on a large quantitative study. Proceedings of the CHI’01 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 3, 61–68. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Fries, S. , Horz, H. , Haimerl, C. (2006). Pygmalion in media-based learning: Effects of quality expectancies on learning outcomes. Learning and Instruction, 16, 339–349. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Gorn, G. J. , Chattopadhyay, A. , Sengupta, J. , Tripathi, S. (2004). Waiting for the Web: How screen color affects time perception. Journal of Marketing Research, 41, 215–225. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Haimerl, C. , Fries, S. (2010). Self-fulfilling prophecies in media-based learning: Content relevance moderates quality expectation effects on academic achievement. Learning and Instruction, 20, 498–510. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Jacobs, K. W. , Hustmyer, F. E. Jr. (1974). Effects of four psychological primary colors on GSR, heart rate and respiration rate. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 38, 763–766. doi: 10:2466/pms.1974.38.3.763 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Jarvis, B. G. (2008). MediaLab (Version 2008.1.33) [Computer Software]. New York: Empirisoft Corporation. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Kim, J. , Moon, J. Y. (1998). Designing towards emotional usability in customer interfaces—trustworthiness of cyber-banking system interfaces. Interacting with Computers, 10, 1–29. doi: 10.1016/S0953-5438(97)00037-4 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Kruglanski, A. W. , Webster, D. M. , Klem, A. (1993). Motivated resistance and openness to persuasion in the presence or absence of prior information. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 861–876. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.65.5.861 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Küller, R. , Mikellides, B. , Janssens, J. (2009). Color, arousal, and performance: A comparison of three experiments. Color Research & Application, 34, 141–152. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Magee, R. G. , Kalyanaraman, S. (2010). The perceived moral qualities of Web sites: Implications for persuasion processes in human-computer interaction. Ethics and Information Technology, 12, 109–125. doi: 10.1007/s10676-009-9210-1 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Martijn, C. , Spears, R. , van der Pligt, J. , Jakobs, E. (1992). Negativity and positivity effects in person perception and inference: Ability versus morality. European Journal of Social Psychology, 22, 453–463. doi: 10.1002/ejsp. 2420220504 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Martin, P. Y. , Laing, J. , Martin, R. , & Mitchell, M. (2005). Caffeine, cognition, and persuasion: Evidence for caffeine increasing the systematic processing of persuasive messages. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 35, 160–182. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Mehta, R. , Zhu, R. (2009). Blue or red? Exploring the effect of color on cognitive task performances. Science, 323(1226), 1226–1229. doi: 10.1126/science.1169144 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Metzger, M. J. (2007). Making sense of credibility on the Web: Models for evaluating online information and recommendations for future research. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 58, 2078–2091. doi: 10.1002/asi.20672 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Metzger, M. J. , Flanagin, A. J. , Eyal, K. , Lemus, D. R. , McCann, R. M. (2003). Credibility for the 21st century: Integrating perspectives on source, message, and media credibility in the contemporary media environment. Communication Yearbook, 27, 293–335. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Nass, C. , Moon, Y. (2000). Machines and mindlessness: Social responses to computers. Journal of Social Issues, 56, 81–103. doi: 10.1111/0022-4537.00153 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Petty, R. E. , Cacioppo, J. T. (1986). The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion. In L. Berkowitz, (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 19, pp. 123–205). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Petty, R. E. , Cacioppo, J. T. , Kasmer, J. A. (1988). The role of affect in the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion. In L. Donohew, H. E. Sypher, E. T. Higgins, (Eds.), Communication, social cognition, and affect (pp. 117–146). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Petty, R. E. , Schumann, D. W. , Richman, S. A. , Strathman, A. J. (1993). Positive mood and persuasion: Different roles for affect under high and low conditions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 5–20. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.64.1.5 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Petty, R. E. , Wegener, D. T. (1999). The elaboration likelihood model: Current status and controversies. In S. Chaiken, Y. Trope, (EdS.), Dual-process theories in social psychology (pp. 41–72). New York: Guilford. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Reeves, B. , Nass, C. (2003). Media equation: How people treat computers television, and new media like real people and places. New York: Cambridge University Press. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Sanbonmatsu, D. M. , Kardes, F. R. (1988). The effects of physiological arousal on information processing and persuasion. Journal of Consumer Research, 15, 379–385. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Schwarz, N. , Clore, G. L. (2003). Mood as information: 20 years later. Psychological Inquiry, 14, 296–303. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Schwarz, N. , Clore, G. L. (2007). Feelings and phenomenal experiences. In E. T. Higgins, A. Kruglanski, (EdS.), Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles (2nd ed., pp. 433–465). New York: Guilford. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Semin, G. R. , Smith, E. R. (2002). Interfaces of social psychology with situated and embodied cognition. Cognitive Systems Research, 3, 385–396. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Sinclair, R. S. , Mark, M. M. , & Clore, G. L. (1994). Mood-related persuasion depends on (mis)attributions. Social Cognition, 12, 309–326. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Walters, J. , Apter, M. J. , Svebak, S. (1982). Color preference, arousal, and the theory of psychological reversals. Motivation and Emotion, 6, 193–215. doi: 10.1007/BF00992245 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Wathen, C. N. , Burkell, J. (2002). Believe it or not: Factors influencing credibility on the Web. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53(2), 134–144. doi: 10.1002/asi.10016 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Williams, L. E. , Bargh, J. A. (2008). Experiencing physical warmth promotes interpersonal warmth. Science, 322, 606–607. doi: 10.1126/science.1162548 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Wojciszke, B. , Bazinska, R. , Jaworski, M. (1998). On the dominance of moral categories in impression formation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 1251–1263. doi: 10.1177/01461672982412001 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Yerkes, R. M. , Dodson, D. (1908). The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit formation. Journal of Comparative and Neurological Psychology, 18, 459–482. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar