Have you ever walked into a room and suddenly your mood changes completely? Well I was thinking about this the other day as I was walking through the abstract section of the Palmer Art Museum. I was wondering, can the color of the room, affect a person’s mood? When I look at the colors on the paintings, each one seems to pull a different emotion out. I think this is why painters play with color so much, and I am curious if it really does affect one’s behavior?
A study was recently done by Alexander S. Soldat and Robert C. Sinclair from the University of Alberta that began to explore this question. They did two studies, but they were both very similar. Overall, they had test subjects complete either high complexity or simple tasks on either blue, red, or white paper. What they found was that in simple tasks, or low motivation, the blue or white paper participants outperformed those who were using red paper. They also later tested how the colors made people feel and they found that the red color was correlated with more positive feelings.
Another study was conducted to see how people responded to purchasing a product based on the background colors in the ads. This study revealed that people were more likely to buy a product if it was associated with the blue color than the red. The article says that red has been associated with tension, and blue with calmness. Thus, when selling a product the blue colors are a better advertising move. THis relates to mood because just based off of a color, we are subliminally changing how we feel and simultaneously changing how we act.
Lastly another study was done where 92 college students were asked to respond to five primary hues, five intermediate hues, and finally three achromatic colors.. The color green ended up getting the highest positive reaction because of its association with nature. White also got a highly positive response. However, green-yellow got a negative response due to the fact that we associate it with sickness.
This is why I believe that color affects someone’s mood. Whether we mean to or not, we associate colors with different emotions, different moments, and it is for this reason that we enjoy some colors more than others. THink about walking into a white room, as opposed to walking into a room splattered with vibrant color. THe colorful mood will most likely strike a more positive reaction because you associate bright colors with happiness. So, when you are down or are looking to change your mood, take into account your surroundings and maybe try to change up the color.
Sources: http://search.proquest.com/docview/848852947?pq-origsite=gscholar
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mar.4220090502/full
http://search.proquest.com/openview/6745f55bc5de6d73483de3464545ebbb/1?pq-origsite=gscholar
Picture Sources:
http://hubpages.com/health/The-Psychology-of-Color-How-Color-Affects-Human-Behavior
http://www.businessflooring.net/blog/color-by-the-numbers-how-color-influences-mood-in-the-workplace