Light green background enhances reading performance in visual display terminal tasks
Visual context plays an important role in reading behavior. However, the effects of background color on reading performance remain underexplored. This study investigated how background color (white vs. light green) affects reading performance, visual fatigue, emotion, and physiological responses in...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1627013/full |
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| author | Xiangyun Li Xiangyun Li Yu Guan Yu Guan Ruilin Wu Xuejun Bai Xuejun Bai Xuejun Bai |
| author_facet | Xiangyun Li Xiangyun Li Yu Guan Yu Guan Ruilin Wu Xuejun Bai Xuejun Bai Xuejun Bai |
| author_sort | Xiangyun Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Visual context plays an important role in reading behavior. However, the effects of background color on reading performance remain underexplored. This study investigated how background color (white vs. light green) affects reading performance, visual fatigue, emotion, and physiological responses in first language (L1, Chinese) and second language (L2, English) reading contexts. Forty university students completed reading tasks under both background color conditions, and self-report, behavioral, eye-tracking, and physiological data were collected. The results showed differential effects of background color across L1 and L2 reading contexts. In L1 reading experiment, a light green background significantly increased pupil diameter (indicating lower visual fatigue), reduced negative emotion, and improved reading performance compared to a white background. Moreover, background color significantly affected skin temperature among female participants only. In L2 reading, the green background also increased pupil diameter, though this effect was limited to female readers, with no significant improvements in reading performance or emotional response. These findings suggest that perceptual features of digital reading environments can influence multiple aspects of reading, including visual fatigue, emotion, and performance, with varying effects across L1 and L2 reading contexts. Notably, the effects of background color appear to be moderated by task complexity and gender, with female readers showing greater sensitivity to background color effects, particularly under more demanding reading conditions. The study highlights the role of individual differences and perceptual context in shaping reading experience, with implications for interface design and digital learning platforms. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3794e6cc69e44516bc2dff03b1f82dc7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-3794e6cc69e44516bc2dff03b1f82dc72025-08-20T03:55:48ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-07-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.16270131627013Light green background enhances reading performance in visual display terminal tasksXiangyun Li0Xiangyun Li1Yu Guan2Yu Guan3Ruilin Wu4Xuejun Bai5Xuejun Bai6Xuejun Bai7Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, ChinaFaculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, ChinaKey Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, ChinaFaculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, ChinaDepartment of Psychology, Beihang University, Beijing, ChinaKey Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, ChinaFaculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, ChinaTianjin Key Laboratory of Student Mental Health and Intelligence Assessment, Tianjin, ChinaVisual context plays an important role in reading behavior. However, the effects of background color on reading performance remain underexplored. This study investigated how background color (white vs. light green) affects reading performance, visual fatigue, emotion, and physiological responses in first language (L1, Chinese) and second language (L2, English) reading contexts. Forty university students completed reading tasks under both background color conditions, and self-report, behavioral, eye-tracking, and physiological data were collected. The results showed differential effects of background color across L1 and L2 reading contexts. In L1 reading experiment, a light green background significantly increased pupil diameter (indicating lower visual fatigue), reduced negative emotion, and improved reading performance compared to a white background. Moreover, background color significantly affected skin temperature among female participants only. In L2 reading, the green background also increased pupil diameter, though this effect was limited to female readers, with no significant improvements in reading performance or emotional response. These findings suggest that perceptual features of digital reading environments can influence multiple aspects of reading, including visual fatigue, emotion, and performance, with varying effects across L1 and L2 reading contexts. Notably, the effects of background color appear to be moderated by task complexity and gender, with female readers showing greater sensitivity to background color effects, particularly under more demanding reading conditions. The study highlights the role of individual differences and perceptual context in shaping reading experience, with implications for interface design and digital learning platforms.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1627013/fullbackground colorvisual fatigueemotionreading performancevisual display terminal |
| spellingShingle | Xiangyun Li Xiangyun Li Yu Guan Yu Guan Ruilin Wu Xuejun Bai Xuejun Bai Xuejun Bai Light green background enhances reading performance in visual display terminal tasks Frontiers in Psychology background color visual fatigue emotion reading performance visual display terminal |
| title | Light green background enhances reading performance in visual display terminal tasks |
| title_full | Light green background enhances reading performance in visual display terminal tasks |
| title_fullStr | Light green background enhances reading performance in visual display terminal tasks |
| title_full_unstemmed | Light green background enhances reading performance in visual display terminal tasks |
| title_short | Light green background enhances reading performance in visual display terminal tasks |
| title_sort | light green background enhances reading performance in visual display terminal tasks |
| topic | background color visual fatigue emotion reading performance visual display terminal |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1627013/full |
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