Response Inhibition Is Facilitated by a Change to Red Over Green in the Stop Signal Paradigm

Abstract

Actions are informed by the complex interactions of response execution and inhibition networks. These networks integrate sensory information with internal states and behavioral goals to produce an appropriate action or to update an ongoing action. Recent investigations have shown that, behaviorally, attention is captured through a hierarchy of colors. These studies showed how the color hierarchy affected visual processing. To determine whether the color hierarchy can be extended to higher level executive functions such as response execution and inhibition, we conducted several experiments using the stop-signal task (SST). In the first experiment, we modified the classic paradigm so that the go signals could vary in task-irrelevant color, with an auditory stop signal. We found that the task-irrelevant color of the go signals did not differentially affect response times. In the second experiment we determined that making the color of the go signal relevant for response selection still did not affect reaction times(RTs) and, thus, execution. In the third experiment, we modified the paradigm so that the stop signal was a task relevant change in color of the go signal. The mean RT to the red stop signal was approximately 25 ms faster than to the green stop signal. In other words, red stop signals facilitated response inhibition more than green stop signals, however, there was no comparative facilitation of response execution. These findings suggest that response inhibition, but not execution, networks are sensitive to differences in color salience. They also suggest that the color hierarchy is based on attentional networks and not simply on early sensory processing.

Red price? Red flag! Eye‐tracking reveals how one red price can hurt a retailer

“…First, with retailers using the color red to signal a discounted price, consumers automatically perceive a promotion flyer using red prices to indicate that the store offers great savings (Puccinelli et al, 2013). Second, an almost ubiquitous use of red color to signal “stop” (e.g., traffic lights), has led consumers to associate red with inhibitory responses (Blizzard et al, 2017).…”

“…Red color is used in traffic lights and other signage that signals “stop.” Studies on the effectiveness of stop signage find that compared to green stop signals, red signals are more effective (Blizzard, Fierro‐Rojas, & Fallah, 2017). Recent evidence of the red‐stop association has been provided by categorization studies in which words such as “stop” and “go” are presented in colors, such as red, green, and gray.…”

Perceptual Color Space Representations in the Oculomotor System Are Modulated by Surround Suppression and Biased Selection

“…This result provided the first electrophysiological evidence for hierarchical differences in the attentional selection of color. Even more recently, Blizzard et al ( 2017 ) demonstrated that red stop signals elicited faster response inhibition than green stop signals on a stop signal task, thus demonstrating hierarchical color selection involvement in higher stages of cognitive processing.…”

“…However, these few studies of the color hierarchy give conflicting accounts of the level in the visual processing hierarchy at which biased color selection occurs. For example, Lindsey et al ( 2010 ) provided evidence that the varying proportions of color signals from the L, M, and S color channels in the earliest stages of color processing explain the selection bias, whereas the results of Blizzard et al ( 2017 ) suggested that the biased selection of certain colors must take place at higher levels of cognitive processing associated with attentional deployment and executive function.…”

Synchronization of Independent Neural Ensembles in Human EEG during Choice Tasks

“…The mean time for selecting one color circle in the subsequent 190 trials of one experiment was about 470 ms ( Figure 1B). The difference in the speed of choosing a red or green circle for the purposes of our experiment was not a priority (Blizzard et al [20] found that the mean reaction time to a red stop signal was approximately 25 ms faster than that to a green stop signal).…”