Effect of Written Font Color on Working Memory and Visual Attention – A Cross-sectional Study on Medical Students

Abstract Background: Color is a fundamental aspect of visual perception, affecting judgment and decision-making. Working memory is the active maintenance of a representation after the stimulus is removed. This is influenced by visual attention of the subject. It is important to retain the information by the use of colors in working notes. This study is an attempt to examine the effect of written font color on working memory and visual attention among undergraduate medical students. Methodology: Undergraduate medical students were given a set of 12 different random medical words from MBBS syllabus written in white ink on a black background as a control and blue, green, black, red, and brown as a test sample on a white sheet of paper. Each participant was allowed to see 12 words in each set for 60 s, wait for 2 min, and then, told to write down the recalled words on the blank sheet of paper within 1 min. This was repeated for the control and all test samples. It was counted, tabulated, and analyzed for inference. Results: Ninety-one students participated, with male: female in a 0.68:1 ratio. The t -test showed green followed by black were the colors having the highest working memory ( P < 0.05). Red and black ink came up with maximum error. Chi-square test showed that blue and brown inks were found to be responsible for the highest visual attention ( P < 0.05). Conclusion: There is a dire need to fix strategies to facilitate the learning process, and colors can play a significant role in motivating students to learn from their educational experience.