A Pre-Analysis of the Effect of White, Blue and Green Background Colours on Working Memory in a Reading Span Task

Abstract Many studies have suggested that the design of a tablet screen can affect the performance its users. This study was conducted in order to investigate whether different screen background colours can affect users’ brain functions when they are performing a task on a tablet computer. The experiment focused on the relationship between background colours and memory span. Thirty Japanese university students and seven elderly people participated in the experiment. A reading span task was used in the experiment in order to observe the activities of the brain areas associated with working memory. The subjects were told to read Japanese sentences aloud while memorising underlined words with three different background colours. The analysis results of the performance scores for both young and elderly people showed that percentages were lowest for a white background compared with other colours. Moreover, recorded near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) values were negative value, which indicated the lowest activity in young people’s brains while performing the task with a white background. The results may suggest that a white background might not a good choice for either performance or brain activity.