Influence Of Red And Blue Light On Intertemporal Decision Making And Its Mediating Mechanism

Intertemporal choice refers to the process in which people make decisions on losses or gains at different time points(short-term or long-term)(Frederick,Loewenstein,& O’Donoghue,2002).People often face intertemporal decisions with different time and reward components when making decisions.At present,there are few studies on the influence of color on intertemporal decision-making.According to previous studies,it can be proved that different colors may have an impact on inter-temporal decision-making.Firstly,different colors will bring different stimuli to people.The internal clock theory proposes that when different stimuli lead to different degrees of arousal,people’s perception of time will be different.According to previous studies,different colors have different effects on people’s time perception,and different time perception will have different effects on inter-temporal decision-making.In this study,four experiments were conducted to explore the influence of red and blue light on inter-temporal decision-making and the mediating effect of comparison between dimensions.In the preliminary experiment,133 college students were selected as the subjects in a university.The single-factor(color: red/blue)design was adopted to explore the influence of red and blue light on time perception.The results showed that the subjective duration of subjects in red light was significantly higher than that in blue light.Experiment 1a uses traditional measurement tools,and experiment 1b uses ecological game tasks to select 133 and 136 college students as subjects in a certain university for two times respectively.An intersubject experiment with single factor(intertemporal decision-making environment: red/blue)is adopted to explore the influence of red and blue light on intertemporal decision-making.The results showed that the subjects in the red light environment had a higher delay discount rate and preferred SS option than those in the blue light environment.In experiment 2,157 college students were selected as subjects in a certain university,and the intersubject experiment with single factor(intertemporal decision-making environment: red/blue)was adopted to explore the influence of red and blue light on intertemporal decision-making and its mediating mechanism by comparing the differences between time/money dimensions as mediating variables.The results show that the comparison of time dimension difference and money dimension difference plays a mediating role in the influence of red and blue light on inter-temporal decision making.In other words,subjects in the red light environment thought that the difference between the two options in the time dimension was greater than that in the money dimension,so the delay discount rate was higher and they preferred SS in the inter-temporal decision making.In experiment 3,120 employees were selected as subjects in a factory,and the influence of red and blue light on intertemporal decision making and its intermediary mechanism were investigated through intertemporal experiment with single factor(intertemporal decision environment: red/blue).The results showed that the comparison between the time dimension difference and the money dimension difference played a mediating role in the influence of red and blue light on the inter-temporal decision making in the real situation.That is to say,employees in the red light environment think the difference in time dimension is greater than that in the blue light environment,so the delay discount rate is greater and they prefer SS in the inter-temporal decision.This study investigates the influence of red and blue light on intertemporal decision-making and its intermediary mechanism from the perspective of decision-making environment,which is helpful for us to have a deeper understanding of the essence and process of intertemporal decision-making,promote the theoretical construction of the influence of color light on intertemporal decision-making,and enrich the theories related to color and intertemporal decision-making.In addition,this research also has great practical value,and the research results can also be applied to the field of decision-making,which is more conducive to helping decision-makers to make reasonable plans and make rational inter-temporal decisions.