COLOR PSYCHOLOGY

Although we don’t often think about it, colors have a significant impact on people.It may not be a surprise, but the color of food can affect how it tastes, the color of a room can affect how you feel, the color of your clothes can affect how attractive you look. Color psychology is the study of how color affects different individuals and their actions. 

Researches to proof color psychology:

There has been many research and experiments to find does color actually affect psychology. One of the most famous was Baker-Miller Pink, where in the late 1960s a researcher Alexander Schauss, investigated whether certain colors actually causes the body to have biological response. He concluded after some experiments that exposure to the color Pink has a calmer effect. He convinced a Naval correctional facility, run by Gene Baker and Ron Miller, to paint a holding cell that color, which came to be known as Baker-Miller pink. Now the inmates who were brought to this prison were considered to be unruly. But it was observed after five months of painting the walls pink that there was no violence or disruptive activity at all. But there was a biggest loophole in this experiment, which was the entire cell was painted pink and the result was compared with the previous year records, instead of painting half the prison pink and half the original color and comparing the results. This one loophole spoiled the entire experiment.

Another experiment was done in 2012 in Netherlands with the poker chips. The poker chips were replaced by Red color and it was observed that when poker players were given red chips, they bet more and were more competitive. When asked how they were feeling during the game, they reported feeling stronger. Players using white or blue chips, on the other hand, tended to fold more. But Red might have an emboldening effect of the Dutch and not on the people of China or Kenya for example. So, this experiment also had a loophole that it was focused only on a single group of people.

Color and Culture:

But before we dive any further, there’s one really important factor to consider, and that is culture. The culture in which an individual is raised in, can influence how they react to color - suggesting that reactions to colors can be somewhat learned. A particular color may be a sign of good luck in one culture, but a sign of bad luck in another. In a case like this, the color is going to affect the mood of each person in different ways. Colors play an important role in our lives, and they are an interesting piece to a puzzle of different things that influence our moods in everyday situations. 

With that in mind, here are a few interesting ways in which color can affect you. 

• Colors can be stimulating or calming. When it comes to colors, their effects can vary based on whether they are considered warm or cool. These terms are often used in art classes, but they offer unique insight into how color can affect a person. Warm colors are brighter - like Yellow, Orange, or Red. These colors can encourage stimulation - but are sufficient in small or limited amounts. Seeing too much of a warm color can become irritating or annoying. If you ever find yourself feeling tired, exhausted, or as if you’re missing a sort of spark in life, a reasonable insertion of warm colors may be the key to subconsciously brighten up your mood. When it comes to cool colors, they tend to be more popular when someone is looking for a peaceful and calming effect in their everyday life. Shades of Blue and Green are considered to be most restful, calming, or relaxing. This makes it ideal for places where you may want to meditate, rest, or rid yourself from the stressful events you may have encountered throughout your day. There’s even some science behind green’s calming effect - research has been able to show that there is less effort needed to see the color green - thus, the muscles in the eyes don’t have to work as hard. Purple on the other hand, is a cool color that is most widely used to encourage creative energy and charge. It’s a mixture of red and blue, which gives it sparks of relaxation and peace - but also encouragement and potential stimulation. 
  
  
  
  
  
• Color can mean different things. It’s literally IMPOSSIBLE to narrow one color down to a solid meaning - and the reason for this is mainly cultural. Most colors have multiple symbolic or cultural meanings, even if you choose to ignore the fact that certain colors will influence certain emotions or memories. Take the color Black as an example. When people think about the color black, they often think of mystery, death, evil, or emptiness. But the color black can also be interpreted to represent elegance or formality - such as a nice tuxedo or a sleek dress. None of these things are wrong, in fact, they are just some of the different things that the color itself can symbolize. Take Red as another example. Some people think of the color red as representing power, aggression, strength, or danger. But other individuals may look at the color red and immediately think of love, passion and desire. However, in many Western cultures, the color red represents all of these things. This makes interpreting how color affects mood somewhat challenging, because what people see in the same color can be drastically different things. 
  
  
  
  
  
• Colors can determine buying choices. Color Psychology is utilized broadly by different showcasing organizations, supermarkets, originators, and so forth. For instance, research has shown that products or packaging with Red labels will grab your attention faster. Red is an inviting color to look at - and it works best with impulsive shoppers. The color Orange is mostly associated with fairness or affordability. You may find that stores offering good value will use orange to reflect their fair prices. Green is most often used to attract individuals who are more eco-friendly. While white is a color that implies purity - which is why most skin care companies will package their top skin care brands in white. Purple portrays royalty or luxury, and it is also used often in the beauty industry - especially when it comes to anti-aging products. A purple box persuades people into paying a higher price - by making them think that the product has special properties. Black is another color that’s used often - due to its portrayal of quality or sophistication. This color is most often used with high-end products, but can make cheaper items seem more valuable as well. 
  
  
• Colors can make you more confident and attractive. Black and Red have been found to be the staple colors of beauty and fashion across the world. They have also been voted as the colors which inspire the most confidence. Men and women both prefer wearing black to interviews or gatherings of importance - because black gives them a boost of confidence. Interestingly, not only do men like wearing black or blue to impress women, women actually prefer those two colors the most on men as well. 
  
  
  
  
  
• Color can make you eat less or more. Aside from affecting your mood, color can also affect your appetite. In fact, the color of your kitchen walls or dining wear can affect how much you eat! Research has shown that individuals who eat in Red plates are found to eat less food. White plates on the other hand, seem bigger than they really are - therefore, they encourage you to eat more. The colors Yellow and Orange are also thought to influence appetite by increasing your hunger. So if you’re looking to lose a few extra pounds, consider changing up the scenery in your kitchen. 
  
  
• Colors can match with scent. It is possible for certain colors to match scents - but only in a limited or personal way. This is strange to think about as they play on various senses, since we can’t see scent or smell color. However, there are many colors and scents that blend well together. One great example of how this works is the color Green. Maybe you love the scent of pine. If you want to enhance your experience with that scent, you could do ‘essential oil’ aromatherapy, in a room painted green. Of course, the way these combinations enhance mood will vary from person to person, but it’s certainly worth a try. 
  
  
  
  
  
• Colors can encourage feelings of happiness. Certain colors tend to naturally encourage happiness more often than not. These are not strict rules when it comes to the effects of color though, so think of them more like guidelines. With that said, when it comes to colors that can naturally encourage happiness, Blue is actually at the top of the list. There is no other color that seems to get such universal love across gender and cultural lines. So it shouldn’t be surprising that blue is a potentially happy color! Green has been found to be the second favorite color among men - and the third among women. Yellow is another color that encourages happiness - hence the easy association with yellow is the classic smiley face. However, this color is best used in small amounts, as large amounts of yellow can be too bright. The most peculiar choice of color for representing happy feelings is Purple. Purple is actually the second most favorite color among women - and is found to be a strong competitor when encouraging happiness. When it comes to men however, purple is the second most hated color. Therefore, there seems to be a gender-biased reaction to certain colors in many cases. Now, going with a favorite color isn’t necessarily a bad idea. But, keep in mind that many colors can be stimulating in nature. For instance, many people love the color black, but do not find it to be inspiring or relaxing in any way.
  
  
  
  
  
• Colors can incite unhappiness. Just as there are colors that can encourage calmness or happiness in a person, there are colors that do the exact opposite. While having a favorite color does not necessarily mean that color will always play a role in helping you feel better, the opposite may actually be true when it comes to colors you don’t like and their effect on your mood. If you dislike a certain color, chances are that it will do very little to make you happy - in fact, it can easily make you unhappy. Nevertheless, when it comes to hated colors, there are two that seem to stick out the most: Brown is the least popular color among men - and the second least favorite among women. Interestingly, brown happens to represent laziness, filth, or ugliness. It may seem bland and outdated. It’s no surprise that brown doesn’t seem to register with either gender as a favorite! While the color Orange represents extravagance and uniqueness, it is the second most hated color. It’s the least popular color among women, and is tied with purple as the second least favorite among men. Although there may be individuals from each gender who prefer one over the other, brown and orange are very clearly the least popular colors of the color spectrum. 

Conclusion:

All in all, colors really do “color” our lives - whether by impacting what we’re subconsciously drawn to, how we express ourselves individually, or how they affect our moods. Since everybody is different, not everyone will react to colors the same way, because colors influence each of us individually on different levels. In addition, there are various general ‘social or cultural’ influences on how color affects us. What do you think? What’s your favorite color and why? Let us know in the comments below!