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The effect of unconscious color hue saturation on the emotional state of humans

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Abstract

The effect of color hue saturation on the emotional state (ES) of humans has been investigated. Frontal EEG asymmetry was used to determine the subject’s ES. The emotionogenic stimuli caused converse dynamics of frontal EEG asymmetry. Negative stimuli elicited a decrease in the value of frontal EEG asymmetry, and positive stimuli increased the value of frontal EEG asymmetry in the anterofrontal and posterofrontal leads. These dynamics of frontal EEG asymmetry indicates the formation of an ES corresponding to the presented stimuli. Blue and red color balance modification of stimuli leads to changes in the dynamics of frontal EEG asymmetry during the scanning of emotionally positive and negative stimuli. None of the subjects noticed the color modification of the video stimuli used. This leads us to the conclusion that the change in the frontal asymmetry in response to modified stimuli resulted from an unconscious perception of the modification of the color characteristics of the stimuli. The results show the possibility of the effect of unconscious perception of color characteristics of video stimuli on the ES of humans.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, 198035, Russia

    V. V. Khoroshikh, V. Yu. Ivanova & G. A. Kulikov

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  1. V. V. Khoroshikh
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  2. V. Yu. Ivanova
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  3. G. A. Kulikov
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Original Russian Text © V.V. Khoroshikh, V.Yu. Ivanova, G.A. Kulikov, 2012, published in Fiziologiya Cheloveka, 2012, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 14–22.

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Khoroshikh, V.V., Ivanova, V.Y. & Kulikov, G.A. The effect of unconscious color hue saturation on the emotional state of humans. Hum Physiol 38, 129–136 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0362119712020090

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