TY - JOUR T1 - The Effect of Colored and Grayscale Images on Visual Memory TT - Renkli ve Gri Tonlamalı Görsellerin Görsel Bellek Üzerindeki Etkisi AU - Aytulum, Rumeysa AU - Duman, Nesrin PY - 2026 DA - July Y2 - 2026 JF - Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi JO - CUJOSS PB - Sivas Cumhuriyet University WT - DergiPark SN - 1305-5143 SP - 249 EP - 256 VL - 50 IS - 2 LA - en AB - The purpose of this study is to examine whether colored visuals enhance visual memory performance compared to black-and-white (grayscale) visuals. Utilizing a repeated measures design, this experimental study initially involved 39 university students aged between 18 and 25 to account for potential data loss, with 34 participants ultimately included in the final evaluation. As part of the research procedure, a total of 30 visuals (15 colored and 15 black-and-white) were presented to the participants in a psychology laboratory computer environment with a specific time limit. Following the visual presentation phase, the “Serial Sevens Test” was administered as a cognitive distractor task to control for factors influencing short-term memory. Subsequently, free-recall forms were provided, and participants were asked to write down the visuals they remembered in any order using one or a few words to evaluate their visual recall performance. According to the experimental results, the recall performance for colored visuals (8.71±2.18) was found to be significantly higher than that for grayscale visuals (6.15±1.94). Thus, the research hypothesis (H1) established as "Visual memory performance for colored visuals is higher compared to black-and-white visuals" was supported. Additionally, a simple linear regression analysis conducted to determine the predictive power of gender on recall performance revealed that the model was not significant, indicating that gender is not a significant predictor of visual memory levels. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to applications aimed at enhancing information encoding, retrieval, and retention across various fields such as educational material design, advertising and marketing, digital interface design, and digital content production. KW - Visual memory KW - color effect KW - memory performance KW - distinctiveness KW - recall. N2 - Bu çalışmanın amacı renkli görsellerin siyah-beyaz (renksiz) görsellere kıyasla görsel bellek performansını artırıp artırmadığını incelemektir. Tekrarlı ölçümler desenine dayalı olarak yürütülen bu deneysel çalışmaya, yaşları 18–25 arasında değişen, veri kaybı ihtimaline karşı 39 üniversite öğrencisi katılmış, 34 katılımcı değerlendirmeye alınmıştır. Araştırma prosedürü kapsamında, katılımcılara psikoloji laboratuvarı bilgisayar ortamında süre sınırlı olacak şekilde 15’i renkli ve 15’i siyah-beyaz olmak üzere toplam 30 görsel sunulmuştur. Görsel sunum aşamasının ardından, kısa süreli belleği etkileyebilecek bilişsel bir dikkat dağıtıcı görev olan “Seri Yedili Testi”uygulanmıştır. Bu görev sonrasında katılımcılara serbest hatırlama formları verilmiş ve hatırladıkları görselleri sırasız olarak bir ya da birkaç kelimeyle yazmaları istenerek görsel geri çağırma performansları değerlendirilmiştir. Deney sonuçlarına göre, renkli görsellerin hatırlanma performansı (8,71±2,18), renksiz görsellere kıyasla (6,15±1,94) anlamlı düzeyde daha yüksek bulunmuştur. Bu haliyle, “Renkli görseller için görsel bellek performansı, siyah-beyaz görsellere kıyasla daha yüksektir” yönünde kurulan araştırma hipotezini (H1) desteklenmiştir. Ayrıca, cinsiyetin hatırlama performansını yordama gücünü belirlemek amacıyla yapılan basit doğrusal regresyon analizi sonucunda modelin anlamlı olmadığı ve cinsiyetin görsel bellek düzeyi üzerinde anlamlı bir yordayıcı olmadığı kaydedilmiştir. 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