Color is an inseparable part of our world as it exists in everything we perceive (Hemphill, 1996). With this constant exposure to colors, it has been widely acknowledged that colors have a distinct effect on a person's feelings and emotions (Hemphill, 1996). In fact, researcher have found that color perception evolved as an adaptation to increase fitness for animals (Bryne & Hilbert, 2003). For humans, color is a part of many everyday associations from temperature to traffic lights to sporting events. Taking this a step further, researchers have studied the effects of color on psychological functioning and physiological responses, including anxiety. A substantial body of research developed a base of information to support the idea that color has a significant effect on humans' emotions, perceptions and behaviors. I set out to test the effects of color on test anxiety and the relationship between anxiety and test performance. It was hypothesized that paper colors red, blue, and green would have an effect on anxiety with red having the most robust effect. It was also hypothesized that there would be a correlation between test performance and anxiety. Fifty undergraduate students took a ten-question brainteaser test printed on one of the three paper colors. Results displayed a significant mead difference between the three test group colors and a significant correlation between test performance and anxiety. This study was then repeated using the colors white, blue, and red. Fifty-eight undergraduate students took the same ten-question brainteaser test. These results failed to suggest a significant mean difference between the three test groups and failed to suggest a correlation between performance and anxiety. These findings conflict with the first study, and therefore, are of interest. Possibilities for these findings are the frequency of occurrence of white and social desirability. Future directions include testing for trait anxiety prior to data collection and using physiological measures to test anxiety. Still, these results can be applied in classroom settings, office environments, and airports.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a music video that modeled intergroup interaction on reducing bias towards outgroup members. 40 undergraduate students from Arizona State University were part of this study. Participants completed the PANAS (Positive And Negative Affect Schedule); measures of openness; a distraction cognitive task; attribution scenarios that asked for trait ratings, reason ratings, and point allocation for reasons; and the IAT (Implicit Association Test). Results indicated no significant increase in positive affect, increase in openness, or reduction of the ultimate attribution error. However, a significant effect emerged for the interaction between watch and listen for negative affect and the watch only group for the IAT. Participants who both watched and listened to the video showed a decrease in negative affect scores. Participants who only watched the video demonstrated an increased automatic preference towards European Americans (an automatic preference toward European Americans is typical). The results indicated desirable outcomes of reduced negative affect, showing the potential for music videos showing intergroup contact and recategorization in influencing affect.