The Effects Of Color On Risk Decision-Making:The Moderating Role Of Self-control And Gender

Studies on color psychology have found that,compared with other colors,individuals under the condition of red will exhibit a series of unique psychological effects.For example,red can induce individuals to have stronger avoidance motivation and risk-avoidance behaviors.The purpose of this study is to introduce color into the field of risk decision making to investigate whether color affects individuals’ risk-taking behavior.Previous studies have also found that in competitive scenarios,red can induce individuals to have stronger avoidance motivation,but this effect only appears in male subjects.Therefore,this study will also explore whether gender can regulate the effect of color on risk-taking behavior in the field of risk decision-making.Self-control is an important individual variable that affects individual risk decision making.High self-control can usually inhibit individuals’ risk-taking behaviors and reduce their impulsiveness.Therefore,this study will also explore whether the influence of color on risk-taking behaviors will change with their self-control level.The first experiment was designed with three factors: 3(red vs.blue vs.Colorless)×2(high self-control vs.low self-control)×2(male vs.female).The paper and pen questionnaire was used to measure the subjects’ risk preference under different color conditions.The second experiment was designed with three factors:2(red vs.blue)× 2(low depletion,high depletion)×2(male vs.female).The loss task was used to manipulate the state self-control of the subjects.The risk-taking behavior of the individuals was measured through the Ballon Analogue Risk Task,and the pre decision emotion and post decision emotion of the subjects were measured Whether emotion plays a mediating role.Both experiments found that color can significantly affect individual risk decision-making,but the direction of influence is opposite,that is,in Experiment 1,compared with the blue and white conditions,the subjects in red condition will avoid risk more,but in Experiment 2,compared with the blue balloon,the subjects in red balloon condition are more risky.More importantly,both experiments found a significant third-order interaction.Specifically,color had little effect on female risk propensity.The low risk(Experiment 1)or high risk(Experiment 2)induced by red were mainly shown in male subjects,and the influence of color on male risk decision-making was regulated by male self-control level,that is,the low risk induced by red only existed in male subjects Red induced high risk was only found in male subjects with low state self-control.Therefore,this study draws the following conclusions:(1)Color has a significant influence on individual risk decisions,but the direction of influence changes with the decision-making atmosphere.In serious investment tasks,red is associated with risk aversion,but in exciting balloon games,red is associated with high risk-taking behavior;(2)There are gender differences in red psychological effect in risk decision-making,which is mainly manifested in male subjects;(3)This red psychological effect is regulated by male self-control level.That is,red can only induce the low risk of high self-control men,or only induce the high risk of low self-control men.