Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

The visual effects of flower colors on university students’ psycho-physiological responses

Author(s):

Xia Li ¹, Ying-Min Lu ^{1, 2}*, Zhe Zhang ¹, Jia Wang ¹, Hui-Tang Pan ^{1, 2}*, Qi-Xiang Zhang ^{1, 2}

Recieved Date: 2012-06-10, Accepted Date: 2012-10-03

Abstract:

Studies on people-plant interaction indicated that visual exposure to nature or plants had positive influences on human health. The objective of this study was to explore the visual effects of red, pink, yellow and white flowers of gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii), carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) and modern rose (Rosa hybrida) on human psycho-physiological responses as compared to a blank white picture as the control. The physiological measurements of 30 university students (15 males and 15 females) included blood pressure (BP), including systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR), galvanic skin response (GSR) and fingertip pulse (FP). The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) were used to record subjects’ psychological reactions during the test. The participants showed physiological benefits as evidenced by decreased SBP, DBP, HR and FP, and increased GSR after receiving flower color stimuli. The results also suggested that exposure to flower colors had psychological improvements, including reduced levels of anxiety, irritability and fatigue. Significant color differences were found in SBP, DBP, STAI, irritability, vigor and fatigue responses. However, there were no significant differences among the three ornamental species tested in any of the physiological or psychological reactions. In conclusion, findings of this research indicated that pink and white flowers were effective in reducing negative feelings, such as anxiety, anger and fatigue; while red and yellow flowers were effective in promoting vigor level.

Keywords:

Flower colors, indoor beautification, people-plant interaction, psycho-physiological influences, visual stimuli

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Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2012
Volume: 10
Issue: 3&4
Category: Environment
Pages: 1294-1300

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