Psychological Effects Of Color Essay, Research Paper
Color affects every moment of our lives although our color choices are mostly unconscious. Color has a great emotional impact on a person that comes out via the clothes we chose to wear, decorations to fill our homes, personality, foods we choose to eat and many more ways.
It is possible to introduce colors to different areas of daily life to give off more energy, soothing affects, stimulate appetites and sexual motivation or even give a place a clean atmosphere. I asked thirty males from the ages of fifteen to sixty what color bra they would like to see their dream girl wearing to find out what colors are the most sexually stimulating. As I predicted, out of thirty, fourteen chose black, while four chose pink, red, blue and white were also chosen by three each and gray and purple were each favored by one person a piece. I also conducted an experiment to see what colors were stimulating on appetites. I added food coloring to make one flavor of Jell-O turn red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, and pink. Out of fifteen total people, seven chose red, purple and pink were chosen by three a piece, and orange and green were chosen by one each.
Blue can either be a calming color or a depressing color, depending on how much one is surrounded by. Although, blue most always has a pleasant association. Blue also is associated with a cool, cleansed, relaxed, calm, hopeful, protected, reassuring, trusting and accepting feeling. It inspires mental control, clarity and creativity. Blue has a direct effect on the autonomic nervous system, which helps calm and soothe humans. However, subconsciously it affects us because we associate blue with the night sky, so it makes us feel calm as though we are being soothed by the night sky. On the other hand, dark blue is sedative and too much can give off a feeling of depression. Blue is also an appetite suppressant. This is believed to be that due to the fact that nature does not create a blue food other than blueberries, therefore we do not have an automatic appetite response to blue. Actually, in a decorative perspective, blue is a spacious color that is most suited for deep thought and relief from a stressful, hectic life. If you wear blue, you may feel self-reliant, sensitive or intelligent. It promotes a good imagination and a practical approach to life by feeling responsible for others. Blue wearers are normally quite independent yet feel the need to be surrounded by tenderness, love and affection. In the survey of bra color selection, the three that chose blue possibly feel the need for love and affection, therefore they chose blue.
Brown is a direct color of nature so it gives off an earth feeling that brings us comfort and support. However, fans of brown are known to often keep emotions to themselves and retreat from fear of the real world. These people sometimes suffer from a lack of self-worth. These people like brown because it helps them with their troubles and it gives them a sense of stability and alleviates insecurity. People who wear brown are normally honest, sensuous and protective because of their desire to be emotionally secure and accepted. They strive for a structured life and they appreciate the fine pleasure of life.
Orange is widely known as the attention grabber and the stimulator of the mind and body. Orange is an anti-depressant color that lifts spirits by giving off feelings of security, warmth, joy, creativity, fun, humor and independence. Like brown, orange frees and releases emotion and alleviates self-pity and self-worth and the unwillingness to forgive. Physically, orange stimulates the sex organs and has an incredibly beneficial effect on the digestive system. Wearers of orange are action-oriented, often impatient, independent and self-motivated. They have a high energy level and tend to be active and competitive. Being surrounded by orange is mentally and physically stimulating and can make a person feel warm, secure and comfortable, though very few people choose to decorate in orange.
Purple is a color of mixed messages coming from both red and blue. Purple is mostly associated with those who are sexy, powerful, and sophisticated. For the people who favor this color are typically dramatic, spiritual, creative, intuitive, inspirational in beauty and art, protective, and wrapped up in a fantasy. Purple balances the mind, brings peace and combats fear. However, fans of purple can be arrogant at times, for they have little interest in lesser people and are only interested in the best of everything. This is probably why the one person who chose a purple bra did; because he takes great interest in only the very best.
Red is the most powerful of all the colors because of its ability to stimulate the heart and blood circulation so that it raises heart rates. Red is known for its high arousal in all perspectives of the body for it is a sexy, dynamic, daring, vital, powerful, warm, sensual, determined, courageous, angry, impatient and ambitious color. It always has a pleasant association because it helps people overcome negative thoughts although too much red can cause a person to become impatient. Red is a color that is often preferred by the economically stable, secure and the risk-takers. Studies even show that people are more daring to gamble more while under red lighting. Impulsive, excitable, energetic, sexual, courageous and extroverted are ways of describing people who enjoy wearing red. They are ambitious and want things to happen as soon as they say the word. They want to be the best and can be insensitive to others feelings to be the best or the center of attention. Actually, if you make a habit of wearing red it may indicate that you place importance on sexual desire and eroticism. And we all know that most guys place importance on sexual desire and eroticism and that is why ten percent of guys chose red in the bra survey. Also, studies show red stimulates appetite more than any other color, and that explains why seven out of fifteen people chose red as their favorite color Jell-O
Also, pink has a gentle stimulation of heart and blood circulation. Just as pink is nearly red, pink nearly has the affects of red, just not so radiant. It elicits simple emotions such as unselfish love, kindness and consideration. It is an emotionally soothing and calming, warming, cheerful and nurturing color that lessen the feelings of irritation and aggression by surrounding us with a sense of love. A study has even been conducted to show that pink has a subduing effect on violent prison inmates. People who enjoy wearing pink are typically affectionate, sympathetic and understanding. They often need the support of others and can often times be child-like. Pink takes on traits of red and white, therefore it is still a sensuous color while being quite innocent. This combination makes pink quite a sexual color, therefore it is self-explanatory as to why four out of thirty guys chose pink as their choice in bra color. And since it has traits of red, the most appetite stimulating of colors, five percent of people chose pink as their favorite color Jell-O.
Green is the color of freshness, peace, freedom, relaxation, security and laziness. It can represent optimism, yet it also represents envy and sickness. Because it is the color of life and vegetation, it helps us to connect with the empathy of others and nature. Green has a balancing quality that regulates our circulation so it is physically and emotionally good for the heart, so we should seek green under stress. Wearers of green are often cautious, quiet, humanistic and are the types to just observe life and not actually get involved in the action. However, when a green-lover must get involved, they will proceed cautiously to be able to fully control the situation.
Yellow is the warmest, most cheerful, happiest, brightest and most uplifting of all the colors. It stimulates the brain making people alert, clear-headed and decisive. Because it helps aids the brain in these activities, it would be a good idea to decorate an office in yellow so that the worker could do his or her best thinking. It also aids in the powers of discrimination, memory, clear thinking, decision making, good judgement, organization, assimilation of new ideas and ability to see other perspectives. A person that wears yellow is someone that is easily approachable because they seem stimulating, spontaneous, interesting and lively to others, and normally are. However, yellow-lovers desire to find greater happiness which implies minor conflict in which release is needed.
Black is a very powerful color because of it?s mystery, dominance and the fact that it is the most sophisticated of all colors. Black is associated with silence, infinite and feminine life-force (passive, uncharted and mysterious.) It is also associated with mourning by the blue-collar and middle aged, however, it is well liked by the wealthy. This is possibly due to the fact that black is the most popular color in formal clothing, that is worn mostly by the upper class. The wearers or black are often strong-willed, opinionated, disciplined and independent. Guys admire these qualities in women and find them sexy. That is why the majority, fourteen of thirty, guys chose black bras on their dream girls. People who love black reject help of others, and feel the need to renounce everything. But this may be due to the fact that they have a little way to go until maturity and are using black to cloak yourself while you discover your true identity. Black is a color that is very popular in clothing, especially formal clothing because it makes things look smaller, meaning it makes people look thin. However, it is not especially smart to make black the dominant color in a room because it will give the room the same affect and could also give a person a negative frame of mind.
White is the color that is always associated with cleanliness, purity, coldness and peace. It gives off the aura of freedom and openness. However, too much white can be cold and isolating or can give headaches and cause eyestrain. White contains all the colors of the spectrum, therefore it shows that people who wear white have a positive, well-balanced, optimistic personality. They also seek a lifestyle free of pressure. White is the most pure color, and this is why ten percent of guys chose white bras. Many males? dream girls are very innocent and pure, therefore they associate a pure girl with a white bra.
At last, gray is the color of individuals. It gives off the impression that you are self-sufficient and have good self control and prefer to be uninvolved. Gray is associated with independence, self-reliance, and acts as a shield from influence. However, gray gives off a negative feeling and can make a person who is around this color frequently, feel lonely and self critical. Gray takes on many of the characteristics of black and white since it is a combination of the two.
In the end, color subconsciously plays a vast role in the psychology of humans. It can be a major persuasion factor in our emotions, and they can seriously uplift or bring us down, especially if a person associates a color with one particular idea. However, naturally, color has the same general affect on people.