This experiment investigated the following research question: Is pupil diameter affected by color? It was found that color does affect pupil size. Specifically, it was found that yellow lenses decrease pupil size while blue lenses increase pupil size. The experimental findings generally were consistent with reports related to pupil size and color.
Rose (1991, pp. 571-572) reported that pupillary constriction that occurs in response to injury also is related to color. Hillis (1995, pp. 457-478) reported that both cognitive and neural mechanisms affect visual processing. Murphy (1991, pp. 161-192) reported that the effect of color on visual processing declines with age. Fowler (1991, pp. 1109-1110) reported that the use of yellow lens can produce striking improvements in vision efficiency for some persons.
All lenses, including glass and natural lenses, bring different color light into focus at slightly different points (Fowler, 1991, pp. 1109-1110). In the eye, sharpness is largely a function of cone cells. Cone cells exist in red-, green- and blue-sensitive types. The blue-sensitive cone cells generally produce less sharp vision than do the red- and green-sensitive cone cells.
The experiment, the results of which are presented in this report, investigated the following research question: Is pupil diameter affected by color? It was hypothesized that: Pupil size will change in relation to the color of the lens through which light reaches the eye, wherein yellow lenses are associated with a reduction in pupil size and blue lenses are associated with an increase in pupil size.
Subjects for this experiment were recruited as volunteers from among introductory psychology classes at Queens College. A total of 20 subjects participated in the experiment. The participants included 11 female students and nine male students, all of whom were in the 19-to-20 years o
...