The effects of correlated colour temperature on wayfinding performance and emotional reactions

This study investigated travellers’ wayfinding performance according to the correlated colour temperature (CCT) of lighting in a virtual airport environment. In the first phase an experiment was conducted under 3000K (yellowish-white) and 12000K (bluish-white) light. Universal face representations of basic emotions (anger, disgust, neutral, surprise, happiness, fear, sadness) were shown to participants and they were asked to choose a single face. In the second phase, two questionnaires were conducted to identify participants’ level of presence in the virtual environment. Females were significantly more lacking in confidence than males in finding their destination, hesitating more often. The results indicated that participants’ wayfinding performance was better under 12000K, which they also associated with more positive emotion.