Color in the educational environment for older people: Recent research review

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to present an analysis of the studies existing in domestic and foreign science of the necessary age-related "correction" of the color of the educational environment for older people, carried out in respect of the fact that chromatic communication is not limited exclusively to biological reactions, but its structure, in addition to perceptual one, includes much more significant psychological mechanisms and semiotic levels. The selection of research sources was carried out through the RSCI, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science systems. In total, 63 full texts of articles published between 1999 and 2019 were analyzed. In the process of work, the methods of theoretical and comparative analysis, systematization and generalization of the material were used. The analysis made it possible to distinguish three groups of research. The first group includes works that present the physiological prerequisites for the necessary changes in the chromatic design of the educational space intended for older people. The second group of studies analyzes various aspects of the impact of the color of the educational environment on older people in a psychological connotation. The third group involves the socio-cultural aspects of the formation of the educational environment for older people and analyzes this phenomenon in terms of connection with the lifestyle, way of thinking, physical and emotional-intellectual activity, and social conditions of the aging person. The results of the study convince that color correction in an educational environment designed for older people can cause noticeable changes in the quality of learning at several levels at once - biological (increasing the availability of information and significantly reducing physiological barriers to perception), psychological (supporting and strengthening the processes of memorization and information processing, increasing the psychological comfort of the educational environment), and social (improving the quality of life of older people).