Summer Studies: Color Psychology

August 02, 2012

Color is an integral part of our society. Just think of how many times a day you stop to consider color. You likely evaluate colors when you are putting on your clothes in the morning – after all, no one wants to be the oddball wearing neon pink polka dots and lime green plaid. Even on your daily drive to work, colors play a huge role in what you do. How you respond to a traffic light varies greatly depending on what color the traffic light is.

Though the details are highly debated, there is a particular area of science that is devoted entirely to the study of colors. It’s called color psychology. Critics often regard it as a pseudoscience with no concrete evidence, but the effects are still studied and considered heavily in industries such as marketing and fashion. Those studying color psychology examine everything, from how color affects mood to the implications and patterns of color preferences. For example, color preferences often follow patterns according to geography more than race, ethnicity, or sometimes even gender. Blue is the color most preferred by people in the United States. People often view the color red as a stimulating and highly-charged color, and for this reason, it is often used in restaurants.

Whether this is actually true or not, it is definitely worth considering. How much of how we feel and what we do is influenced by our environment.

Heather G.
Oak Grove Branch