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Shades of Emotion: Color and Emotion Study
... (Rider, 2009). Emotional associations also vary (Beins, 2022 (Zhandyrbay, 2024). Harmony lacks universal definition (Arora & Warsi, 2024). ...
Color is a fundamental and pervasive element of human perception and a critical tool in various design disciplines. This review synthesizes the scientific literature on the psychological meaning of color within design contexts, encompassing graphic, web, interior, product, and marketing design. The study examines how color influences human emotion, cognition, and behavior, drawing upon theoretical frameworks ranging from biological and evolutionary perspectives to learned associations and context-dependent models, particularly the Color-in-Context theory. The methodology involved a systematic review of peer-reviewed journal articles, academic books, and conference proceedings, focusing on empirical research employing experimental, correlational, survey, and qualitative methods. Key findings indicate that colors such as red, blue, green, yellow, black, and white evoke complex, often dualistic psychological responses (e.g., red signifies both passion and danger; blue conveys trust but also sadness). These responses are significantly moderated by factors including the specific design context, cultural background, individual differences (age, gender, personality, experience), and the interplay of color combinations, saturation, and brightness. Methodological limitations within the field, such as inadequate color specification and control, underpowered samples, and oversimplification of stimuli, are identified. Practical implications for design professionals highlight the need for nuanced, evidence-based color strategies that consider context, target audience, and brand identity, alongside ethical considerations regarding potential manipulation and accessibility. The review concludes that while color demonstrably affects psychological functioning, the field requires further research with improved methodological rigor, a greater focus on moderating variables and complex color interactions, and the development of mid-level theories to bridge the gap between fundamental research and effective design application.
Emotional reactions to color hue, saturation, and brightness (Munsell color system and color chips) were investigated using the Pleasure–Arousal–Dominance emotion model. Saturation (S) and brightness (B) evidenced strong and consistent effects on emotions. Regression equations for standardized variables were: Pleasure = .69B + .22S, Arousal = − .31B + .60S, Dominance = − .76B + .32S. Brightness effects were nearly the same for chromatic and achromatic colors. Blue, blue–green, green, red–purple, purple, and purple–blue were the most pleasant hues, whereas yellow and green–yellow were the least pleasant. Green–yellow, blue–green, and green were the most arousing, whereas purple–blue and yellow–red were the least arousing. Green–yellow induced greater dominance than red–purple.
Previous studies on emotional effects of color often failed to control all the three perceptual dimensions of color: hue, saturation, and brightness. Here, we presented a three-dimensional space of chromatic colors by independently varying hue (blue, green, red), saturation (low, medium, high), and brightness (dark, medium, bright) in a factorial design. The 27 chromatic colors, plus 3 brightness-matched achromatic colors, were presented via an LED display. Participants (N = 62) viewed each color for 30 s and then rated their current emotional state (valence and arousal). Skin conductance and heart rate were measured continuously. The emotion ratings showed that saturated and bright colors were associated with higher arousal. The hue also had a significant effect on arousal, which increased from blue and green to red. The ratings of valence were the highest for saturated and bright colors, and also depended on the hue. Several interaction effects of the three color dimensions were observed for both arousal and valence. For instance, the valence ratings were higher for blue than for the remaining hues, but only for highly saturated colors. Saturated and bright colors caused significantly stronger skin conductance responses. Achromatic colors resulted in a short-term deceleration in the heart rate, while chromatic colors caused an acceleration. The results confirm that color stimuli have effects on the emotional state of the observer. These effects are not only determined by the hue of a color, as is often assumed, but by all the three color dimensions as well as their interactions.
Numerous studies have reported age-related differences in memory for emotional information. One explanation places emphasis on an emotion processing preference in older adults that reflects their socioemotional self-relevant goals. Here, we evaluate the degree to which this preference in memory may be modulated by color. In 2 experiments, younger and older adults were asked to study a series of affective words (Experiment 1) or affective pictures (Experiment 2) and then presented with an immediate yes/no memory recognition task. In particular, words and pictures were colored according to the following valence-color associations: positive-green, negative-red, and neutral-blue. Each study condition included both congruent (e.g., positive-green) and incongruent associations (e.g., positive-red). For both experiments, participants showed an advantage for congruent associations compared with other types of valence-color pairings that emphasized a robust joint effect of color and affective valence in memory. More specifically, older adults’ memory was sensitive to positive-green stimuli only. We discussed results in line with mechanisms underlying positivity effects in memory and the effect of color on emotional memory encoding.
Within three age groups (7-year-old children, 11-year-old children, and adults), preferences for colors and emotions were established by means of two distinct paired-comparison tasks. In a subsequent task, participants were asked to link colors to emotions by selecting an appropriate color. It was hypothesized that the number of times that each color was tied to a specific emotion would be predictable from the separate preferences for colors and emotions. Within age groups, participants had consistent preferences for colors and emotions, but preferences differed from one age group to another. Especially in the youngest group, the pattern of combinations between colors and emotions appeared to be meaningfully related to the preference order for colors and emotions.
Word associations or verbal synesthesia between concepts of color and emotions were studied in Gersnany, Mexico, Poland, Russia, and the United States. With emotion words as the between-subjects variable, 661 undergraduates indicated on 6-point scales to what extent anger, envy, fear, and jealousy reminded them of 12 terms of color. In all nations, the colors of anger were black and red, fear was black, and jealousy was red. Cross-cultural differences were (a) Poles connected anger, envy, and jealousy also with purple; (b) Germans associated envy and jealousy with yellow; and (c) Americans associated envy with black, green, and red, but for the Russians it was black, purple, and yellow. The findings suggest that cross-modal associations originate in universal human experiences and in culture-specific variables, such as language, mythology, and literature.
Color hue and mood: The effect of variation of red hues on positive and negative mood states. College of St
- A Albert
Albert, A. (2007). Color hue and mood: The effect of variation of red hues on positive and
negative mood states. College of St. Elizabeth Journal of the Behavioral Sciences, 1, 19-26.
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Kairoos Solutions SL. (2021). NotesWriter Pro (Version 15.0.7) [Mobile app].