Colour Psychology: Do Colours Really Influence Our Emotions And Behaviour?
We've all heard it before: Blue and Green make people feel calm, yellow is associated with happiness and red can either mean "danger!" or love and passion.
But what's really behind Colour Psychology - do certain colours actually influence our behaviours or emotions?
The controversy about colour psychology
There's quite a lot of controversy surrounding colour psychology - some people/psychologists/marketers believe in it, while others say it's just a hoax.
Although there have been several (successful) studies conducted on this topic, there is one big factor that always remains: personal associations.
As much as researchers test people's emotions around certain colours, they will never be able to measure the personal associations of people with one color.
So while most people might feel calm when seeing the color blue, someone might feel anxious because they've had a traumatic experience in the ocean in the past.
That being said, multiple studies have shown that certain colours really do impact people's behaviours, emotions and decisions.
Poker Study
One example is a poker study from 2012, conducted in the Netherlands.
The participants were playing poker. When given red chips, they were more competitive and bet more, compared to regular chips. When asked how they were feeling during the game, participants answered that they were feeling stronger.
When playing with white or blue chips, the players tended to fold more and do less risky moves.
Colour Psychology in Advertising and Branding
Advertising is probably one of the most important areas related to color perception.
After all, every store wants to attract the most revenue from its customers, so why not make use of colour psychology!
And every brand wants to establish a positive image in people's minds, so they're very careful about choosing which colours to use in their logos.
In general, the same principle applies that everyone has perosnal associations with colours.
Nevertheless, there are a few things that advertisers can keep in mind when choosing colours.
Probably the most important thing to note here is "perceived appropriateness" - meaning how well the colour "fits" the brand. Countless studies have shown that consumers are more likely to purchase something if the colour "fits" the product. A sunscreen lotion for example will probably never be packaged in red, but rather in yellow, orange or even blue to be associated with the sea.
Researchers found out that 90% of snap judgements about products can be based on colour alone - showing that colours really do influence us.
Now, let's take a look at some colours and their different effects on us!
1) Blue
Blue is the most-liked colour by both genders, making it the most-used colour for logos and branding. It's the most accepted colour and a pretty safe bet for branding.
Blue is also nicknamed the "colour of the mind", it's associated with Intelligence, Harmony, Security, trust and loyalty.
2) Red
Red has the longest wavelength and is therefore considered a very powerful colour. It's highly visible and associated with strength, boldness, energy, confidence, power, passion, excitement and courage. It's also often used in the food industry because it's said to stimulate the appetite.
3) Yellow
Yellow is the ultimate happiness-colour - it's associated with sunshine and a good mood!
Yellow represents optimism, energy, enthusiasm, warmth and clarity.
4) Orange
Orange has similar associations to yellow - orange represents fun, energy, happiness, warmth, spontaneity and friendliness.
5) Green
Green is of course mostly associated with plants and the environment - you've probably all heard of "green-washing", purposely making stores or products in the colour green to give the consumer a feeling of eco-consciousness and health.
Green is associated with nature, wellness, peace, growth, balance, prosperity and freshness.
6) Purple
Purple and violet have the shortest wavelengths. They are often used to display spritiuality or creativity.
Purple is associated with wisdom, mystery, fantasy, compassion, imagination and wealth.
7) Black & White
I will combine black and white because they are obviously the most neutral colours. Therefore, they represent seriousness, but also balance.
White is associated with peace, clarity, simplicity, purity and innocence.
Black on the other hand represents sophistication, power, elegance, formality and professionalism.
Have you ever noticed the effect of colour psychology? Which colour do you feel most attracted by?
Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
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© Sirwinchester
Excellent work dear friend @sirwinchester very interesting, I have always known about the psychology of colors, but I must admit that I never get much interest in the subject except today that I went all over the post very interesting, my name is a lot attention red and blue , To me in particular I like the blue and can see it in the images I publish, everything predominates the blue, sir go far, three of my four post that publish today is like this.
Thank you very much for this interesting work
you have a good day
Thank you for your compliments and support, I appreciate it!
And yes you're right, it seems like blue is everywhere. It's most accepted and most people like blue.
Even steemit and the steemit logo are blue!
I'm pretty sure everybody have their own opinion about it but in my cause I strongly believe that colors have bigger meaning in our life. All of us have a favorite color... we pay attention which colors we want to have in our home.. that proves that subconsciously some colors build our safety zone... or happiness. Thanks for sharing this post was super interesting!!
True, we pick colours all the time and our subconscious choices probably say a lot about our preferences and emotional state!
Thanks for the compliment & for your comment 👌
I can say that seeing all the unnecessary u's in the words color and behavior in the headline has definitely influenced my emotions. Stopping jamming u's into otherwise perfectly happy words!
-Signed
'Murica
Hahaha 😂
I'm british so I can't stop with the u's! 🇬🇧
My trading room used to be all black walls, but i felt i was always tired. So I painted them orange. :]
Wow, all black must have been very dark! I guess a nice orange will make you feel much more energetic 💪
For certian. So much better mood, more nergy. plus its kinda the color of bitcon :P
BTW since you upoted my original article, Heres the update to my steemit advertising campaign :)
https://steemit.com/steemit/@cryptohustlin/tweet-to-187k-first-part-of-steemit-advertising-campaign-complete
colors mean a lot..... thanks for sharing
Thank you! 👍
my pleasure
Well written - colours are very important for our emotions, i can tell you - wifey always shows me red flag lol
Hahaha 🚩
thanks for the feedback!
aber immer gerne Chefchen aus dem Norden :-)
Yes , I should say, Colours imapct too much
Definitely, we make choices depending on colour all the time!
Yes, we genearally say, This filled colours iin my life... It made my life colourful .... these colours are very close with our emotions
Very inspirative. There's also the fashion factor. I think now the blue is in favor. It changes every 3-5 years or so.
Yes, that's true as well. But as for fashion I think you can never go wrong with neutral colours like black, white and grey
Excellent post. I feel that color has much impact on us whether we realize it or not.
Definitely, we make subconscious color choices all the time!
Thanks for your feedback 👍
Great post, the suggestions of color is always an interesting topic, as the industry uses the colors to sell us products using human psychology. It is a subject little known by many. Thanks for the great information you always share.
Thank you,, I'm glad you enjoyed the post!