The Effects of correlated color temperature on sustained attention and mood of university students in learning environments

The aim of this study is to understand the effects of correlated color temperature on sustained attention and mood of university students in learning environments and to compare different color temperatures. The experiment was conducted with two different sample groups in two different lighting settings; 4000 K and 6500 K in a single phase. The participants were ninety seven undergraduate students from Bilkent University. The participants were seated in a regular lecture room and tested by the researcher. They were asked to perform three paper- based tests; one of them about the sustained attention, d2 Test of Attention, and the other two about mood, (PANAS) Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. It was found that correlated color temperature has no significant effect on concentration performance, errors of omission, total numbers of items processed. A certain conclusion could not be derived about the effect of color temperature on mood. However, color temperature has a significant effect on errors of commission and number of errors. It was found that 4000 K significantly increases errors of commission and number of errors, thus 6500 K is more appropriate for university learning environments.