Research
Caroline Small conducted research at the University of Kent concerning the effects of colour in improving self-esteem via exercise and the possible benefits of this to rehabilitation. Her findings were published in the Journal of Sports Sciences in February 2010
Research suggests that exercise has a significant positive effect on self-esteem (1)
Self-esteem is defined as a “positive or negative attitude towards a particular object, namely the self”
​
-
Yellow and violet are hypothesised to be the treatment colours used in the enhancement of self-esteem. Low self-esteem is a common side effect that challenges cardiac patients following treatment or rehabilitation (2)
-
The purpose of this five week study was to establish the impact of colour on self-esteem during exercise, in a sample population of long-term Phase IV cardiac rehabilitation participants.
​
Following institutional ethics approval, 31 participants, 20 male, 11 female, aged between 55-76 years, all Caucasian white, were recruited from a weekly Phase IV circuit-based cardiac rehabilitation class. 18 (10 male, 8 female) were assigned to the colour group (yellow/violet glasses and exercise) and 13 (10 male, 3 female) were assigned to the control group (exercise only). All participants completed a Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) self-fill questionnaire (3) prior to commencement of exercise on week one, and directly after completion of exercise on week five. The colour group wore yellow glasses throughout exercise warm-up phase (15min) and violet glasses throughout exercise cool-down phase (10min).
Two t-tests were performed to determine if the group wearing coloured glasses would show a greater increase in self-esteem than the group without glasses. Statistical significance was set at P=<0.05 for all tests.
-
Measurement of RSES total mean score for the colour group before and after the study showed a significant difference (t (17) = - 2.326, P = 0.033).
-
In contrast RSES total mean score for the control groups identified no significant difference.
These findings support previous research which reports exercise involvement alone does not always lead to an automatic rise in self-esteem and may not consistently accompany positive changes in physical perception. They also suggest that colour may have a significant impact in the enhancement of self-esteem. However since these results are from a single study utilising a small sample size and convenience sampling, further research is warranted to support the study claims and to generate a strong conceptual framework from which to make clear conclusions about the influence of colour on psychological functioning and its relevance to health and well-being.
​
(1) Owens, 1993: p.288, Social Psychology Quarterly, 56, 4, 288-299.
(2) Mayou, 1990; Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Research, 54, 99-109.
(3) Rosenberg, 1965: In Society and the Adolescent Self-Image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press
Caroline Small 2010