Color Emotions without Blue Light : Effect of a Blue Light Filter on the Emotional Perception of Colors

Abstract: Blue light filters have become commonplace in modern technology. While there has been a substantial amount of research into their effects on sleep, there has been little into the effect on the media perceived through them. This study sought to examine whether the mechanisms responsible for the adaptation to ambient light conditions would counteract this effect. To do so, a digital survey was conducted in which participants rated 30 colors on 3 different emotional attributes: warmth, weight, and activity. Participants took the survey with or without a blue light filter active, and with or without external light. The external light was intended to eliminate or reduce the level of adaptation to the screen’s altered colors. After comparison between the groups, it was revealed that no significant subjective difference appeared between either of the test conditions. However, with external light, there was a difference in perceived warmth with and without the blue light filter. This implies that some sort of adaptation is involved, and is interfered with by qualities of ambient light. The prevalence of these usage conditions is left to future research, as is whether the specific extent of the difference caused by blue light filters is significant enough to design around.