In a study published in 2004, some researchers conducted a simple experiment to examine the emotional responses people had to various colors.
The researchers showed 98 college students with no color-blindness a set of colors, one color at a time. There were 44 men and 54 women.
Then, the students were asked, “What emotional response do you associate with this color? How does this color make you feel? Why do you feel this way?”
Here are the results, broken down by color and how many people agreed (most agreement first):
- Red: Angry (28), Happy (21), Excited (18), Loved (15), Energetic (5), No emotion (3)
- Yellow: Happy (74), Energetic (10), Excited (8), Tired (6)
- Green: Calm (29), Happy (28), Comfortable (15), Peaceful (12), Hopeful (8), No emotion (4), Excited (2)
- Blue: Calm (60), Peaceful (12), Happy (10), Depressed (6), Comfortable (4), Lonely (3), No emotion (3)
- Purple: Calm (28), Happy (21), Sad (13), Tired (9), Powerful (7), Bored (5), Fearful (5), Excited (4), Comfortable (3), No emotion (3)
- Yellow-red (Orange): Happy (31), Excited (25), Energetic (14), Disgusted (9), No emotion (7), Annoyed (5), Bored (4), Comfortable (3)
- Green-yellow: Sick (32), Disgusted (26), Happy (11), Annoyed (8), Comfortable (7), Excited (6), No emotion (4), Bored (2), Confused (2),
- Blue-green: Happy (36), Calm (16), Excited (11), Energetic (10), Annoyed (7), Comfortable (7), Confused (6), No emotion (3), Disgusted (2)
- Purple-blue (Indigo): Calm (38), Happy (13), Depressed (12), Sad (10), Peaceful (8), Hopeful (5), Lonely (3), Tired (5), No emotion (4)
- Red-purple: Happy (26), Loved (17), Calm (13), Excited (12), No emotion (8), Depressed (8), Powerful (7), Disgusted (3), Annoyed (2), Bored (2)
- White: Innocent (33), Empty/void (25), Peaceful (13), Calm (8), Hopeful (6), Lonely (6), Bored (5), No emotion (2)
- Gray: Sad (30), Depressed (23), Bored (14), Confused (6), Tired (5), Calm (5), Lonely (4), Angry (3), Fearful (3), No emotion (3), Powerful (2)
- Black: Sad (24), Depressed (22), Fearful (17), Powerful (14), Angry (7), Tired (7), Comfortable (5), No emotion (2)
Some of the associations match cultural connotations very strongly. They make sense:
- White is a symbol of innocence/purity all over the world. Many religions use white clothing to symbolize purity.
- Red was strongly related to anger, happiness, and feeling excited.
- Green-yellow was strongly related to feeling disgusted and sick. I'll let you use your imagination as to why that might be.
- Black and gray were associated with negative emotions such as sadness, depression, and fear.
Some of the associations seem to “come out of the blue” (no pun intended):
- Blue-green was associated with happiness (red-purple was too).
- Orange was slightly associated with disgust for some people (really?)
Some classic associations with colors didn't seem to show up.
- For instance, purple has long been associated with power and royalty, but only 7 out of 98 made the connection.
What color was most likely to have no response?
- Red-purple
Sometimes a slight change in a color made all the difference.
- For instance, green was mostly associated with positive emotions (Calm, Happy, Comfortable, Peaceful) but green-yellow was associated with negative ones (Sick, Disgusted, Annoyed).
Are emotions associated with colors the same across the world? No!
Some other researchers, in 2000, studied preferences and emotions for colors in samples of people from several countries. Here are some findings that are specific to various places:
- Blue is usually the most-liked color (in the United States, Austria, Colombia, China, and Taiwan), or second-most liked color. However, Brazilians and people in Hong Kong liked white the best.
- Canadians liked Black more than any other color.
- Generally, blue, green, and white tended to be “clustered” or associated together in most countries. Brown and black also tended to be associated together.
- Black and brown were associated with the emotions “sad” and “stale” in most countries, but they are also seen as “formal” in Brazil, Colombia, China, and Taiwan, and “masculine” in Austria, Hong Kong, and the United States.
- In the Asian countries surveyed (Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan), Purple was associated with Black and Brown.
- Red's association with being “emotional, vibrant, and passionate” was pretty much universal.
- However, the Chinese and Taiwanese respondents also felt that Red was “pleasant,” possibly reflecting strong cultural associations with Red.
- Similarly, Green was pretty much universally seen as the polar opposite of Red, perceptually and emotionally (Green is calming, soothing, peaceful, as opposed to Red being passionate and emotional).
Reference 1
Naz, K. & Epps, H. (2004). Relationship between color and emotion: A study of college students. College Student Journal, 38(3), 396. Link: https://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2004-19149-009
Reference 2
Madden, T. J., Hewett, K., & Roth, M. S. (2000). Managing images in different cultures: A cross-national study of color meanings and preferences. Journal of International Marketing, 8(4), 90-107. Link: https://journals.ama.org/doi/abs/10.1509/jimk.8.4.90.19795