Module 10: "Color reacts (psychological)"
  Lecture 27: "Psychological Effect of Color"
 


Cultural Contexts of Colors

Color

Positives

Negatives

Gray

Elegance, humility, respect, reverence, stability, subtlety, timelessness, wisdom

Anachronism, boredom, decay, decrepitude, dullness, dust, pollution, urban sprawl

Red

Passion, strength, energy, fire, love, sex, excitement, speed, heat, leadership, masculinity, power

Danger, fire, gaudiness, blood, war, anger, revolution, radicalism, aggression, stop

Blue

Seas, skies, peace, unity, harmony, tranquillity, calmness, coolness, confidence, water, ice, loyalty, conservatism, dependability, cleanliness, technology, winter

Depression, coldness, idealism, obscenity, ice, tackiness, winter

Green

Nature, spring, fertility, youth, environment, wealth, money (US), good luck, vigour, generosity, go, grass

Aggression, inexperience, envy, misfortune, jealousy, money, illness, greed

Yellow

Sunlight, joy, happiness, optimism, idealism, wealth (gold), summer, hope, air

Cowardice, illness (quarantine), hazards, dishonesty, avarice, ossification, weakness

Purple

Sensuality, spirituality, creativity, wealth, royalty, nobility, ceremony, mystery, wisdom, enlightenment

Arrogance, flamboyance, gaudiness, mourning, profanity, exaggeration, confusion

Orange

Buddhism, energy, balance, heat, fire, enthusiasm, flamboyance, playfulness

Aggression, arrogance, flamboyance, gaudiness, overemotion, warning, danger, fire

White

Reverence, purity, snow, peace, innocence, cleanliness, simplicity, security, humility, marriage, sterility, winter

Coldness, sterility, clinicism, surrender, cowardice, fearfulness, winter, unimaginative

Black

Modernity, power, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, style

Evil, death, fear, anonymity, anger, sadness, remorse, mourning, unhappiness, mystery

Brown

Calm, depth, natural organisms, nature, richness, rusticism, stability, tradition

Anachronism, boorishness, dirt, dullness, filth, heaviness, poverty, roughness

(Ref. http://www.uvsc.edu/disted/decourses/dgm/2740/IN/steinja/lessons/05/l05_08.html ; June 9, 2012

References:  Frank, M. G. & Gilovich, T. (1988). The dark side of self and social perception: Black uniforms and aggression in professional sports. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 74-83)