Color and Psychological Functioning

Color is a ubiquitous perceptual experience, yet little scientific information about the influence of color on affect, cognition, and behavior is available. Accordingly, we have developed a general model of color and psychological functioning, which we present in this article. We also describe a hypothesis derived from this model regarding the influence of red in achievement contexts. In addition, we report a series of experiments demonstrating that a brief glimpse of red evokes avoidance motivation and undermines intellectual performance, and that it has these effects without conscious awareness or intention. We close with thoughts on the need for rigorous scientific work on color psychology. KEYWORDS—color; red; avoidance; approach; motivation Every visual stimulus processed by the human perceptual system contains color information. Given the prevalence of color, one would expect color psychology to be a well-developed area. Surprisingly, little theoretical or empirical work has been conducted to date on the influence of color on psychological functioning, and the work that has been done has been driven mostly by practical concerns, not scientific rigor. As such, although the popular and applied literatures are replete with statements regarding the content of color associations and their presumed impact on behavior (e.g., ‘‘Green is peaceful and helps people relax’’), the lack of theory and carefully controlled experimentation makes clear conclusions about color associations and their implications elusive (Levy, 1984; Whitfield & Wiltshire, 1990). Given the disparity between the ubiquity of color stimuli and the dearth of extant theory and research on color psychology, we have developed a general model of color and psychological functioning. In this article, we set a conceptual and empirical context for our model, present the model, and describe one main hypothesis derived from it. Then, we overview a research program designed to test various aspects of this hypothesis. Finally, we briefly describe a second hypothesis generated from our model, and close with thoughts on the need for rigorous scientific work on color psychology. EXTANT THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL WORK Most existing work on color and psychological functioning is applied, as opposed to theoretically based. The questions that drive this type of research include: What colors influence retail behavior? What colors influence food preference? What colors influence worker mood and productivity? What colors influence physical health and aggressive behavior? What color preferences are associated with different personality types? Such research simply seeks to establish relations between color stimuli and affect, cognition, or behavior for pragmatic purposes; it seeks neither to explain why such relations occur nor to test basic principles regarding psychological functioning. Of the existing research that is theoretically based, most has been loosely guided by Goldstein’s (1942) proposal that red and yellow are naturally experienced as stimulating and disagreeable, that these colors focus people on the outward environment, and that they produce forceful, expansive behavior, whereas green and blue are experienced as quieting and agreeable, focus people inward, and produce reserved, stable behavior. Subsequent researchers have tended to interpret Goldstein’s proposal in terms of wavelength and arousal: Longer-wavelength colors like red are experienced as arousing, and shorter-wavelength colors like green are experienced as calming (e.g., Stone & English, 1998). Aside from Goldstein’s proposal and its derivatives, most theoretical statements about color rely on general associations. Different colors are presumed to have different associations, and viewing a color is thought to trigger psychological responses consistent with these associations. For example, Frank and Gilovich (1988) posited that black is associated with evil and death and, therefore, leads to aggressive behavior. Likewise, Soldat, Sinclair, and Mark (1997) proposed that red and blue are associated with happiness and sadness, respectively, and therefore lead to cognitive processing and behavior consistent Address correspondence to Andrew Elliot, Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14227; e-mail: [email protected]. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 250 Volume 16—Number 5 Copyright r 2007 Association for Psychological Science with those emotions. Such models tend to focus on one or two colors/associations and typically propose general links between colors and functioning across situations. Existing research on these proposals tends to be sparse and spotty, occasionally supporting some hypotheses but not others. Although the popular and even scientific literatures commonly state as fact that long-wavelength colors are arousing and shortwavelength colors are calming, the actual data simply are not supportive. Frank and Gilovich’s (1988) proposal is supported by some data, but that proffered by Soldat et al. (1997) is not. Furthermore, the extant research on color and psychological functioning in general is plagued by several weaknesses. First, perhaps due to the applied nature of the work, many studies have neglected to follow basic experimental procedures such as experimenter blindness to hypothesis and condition. Second, many of the manipulations in these studies have been uncontrolled (e.g., presenting color on an office wall for 4 days) or have altered participants’ typical perceptual experience (e.g., presenting color via overhead lights). Third, and most important, almost no extant research has examined the effect of hue while controlling for lightness (similar to brightness) and chroma (similar to saturation), despite the fact that these other color attributes can themselves influence psychological functioning. A MODEL OF COLOR AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING AND A HYPOTHESIS DERIVED FROM THE MODEL We (Elliot, Maier, Moller, Friedman, & Meinhardt, 2007) have developed a general model of color and psychological functioning, the core premises of which are stated in the following. First, colors can carry specific meanings. Color is not just about aesthetics—it also communicates specific information. Second, color meanings are grounded in two basic sources: learned associations that develop from repeated pairings of colors with particular messages, concepts, or experiences; and biologically based proclivities to respond to particular colors in particular ways in particular situations. Some color associations may emerge from learning alone, but color theorists suspect that many such associations emerge from evolutionarily ingrained responses to color stimuli (Mollon, 1989). Research indicates that colors often serve a signal function for nonhuman animals (e.g., the redness of fruit signals readiness for eating), thereby facilitating fitness-relevant behavior (Hutchings, 1997). If, as we suspect, humans are ‘‘prepared’’ to respond to color stimuli in a similar fashion, then at least some color associations may represent a cognitive reinforcing or shaping of biologically based response tendencies. Third, the mere perception of color evokes evaluative processes. Color computations occur at an early level within the visual system, and evaluative processes are so fundamental that they are present, at least in rudimentary form, in all animate life (Schneirla, 1959). By ‘‘evaluative processes’’ we mean basic mechanisms that discern whether a stimulus is hostile or hospitable (Elliot & Covington, 2001). Fourth, the evaluative processes evoked by color stimuli produce motivated behavior. Color stimuli that carry a positive meaning produce approach responses, whereas those that carry a negative meaning produce avoidance responses. Fifth, color typically exerts its influence on psychological functioning in an automatic fashion; the full process from evaluation of the color stimulus to activation and operation of motivated behavior typically takes place without conscious intention or awareness. Given that the influence of color tends to be nonconscious in nature, color effects tend to persist, even when they are deleterious. Sixth, color meanings and effects are contextual. A given color has different implications for feelings, thoughts, and behaviors in different contexts (e.g., achievement contexts, relational contexts). Our research to date has focused primarily on the color red in achievement contexts. Our hypothesis is that red carries the meaning of danger in such contexts, specifically the psychological danger of failure (Elliot, Maier, Moller, et al., 2007). One source of this red–danger link is presumed to be teachers’ use of red ink to mark students’ mistakes and errors. This specific association is likely grounded in a more general societal association between red and danger where negative possibilities are salient, such as stop signs and warning signals. These learned associations may be bolstered by or even derived from an evolutionarily ingrained predisposition across species to interpret red as a signal of danger in competitive contexts. For example, in primates, red on the chest or face (due to a testosterone surge) signals the high status, and thus danger, of an opponent; Setchell & Wickings, 2005). Thus, through both specific and general associative processes that may themselves emerge from biologically based proclivities, red carries the meaning of failure in achievement contexts, warning that a dangerous possibility is at hand. This warning signal is posited to produce avoidance-based motivation that primarily has negative implications for achievement outcomes. The influence of red in achievement contexts is presumed to take place outside of individuals’ conscious awareness. OUR EMPIRICALWORK ON RED IN ACHIEVEMENT CONTEXTS We began our empirical work with four experiments designed to test the effect of red on intellectual performance (Elliot, Maier, Moller, et al., 2007, Experiments 1–4). In the first experiment, participants completed an anagram test that contained a red, green, or black subject number in the upper right-hand corner. Green provided a chromatic contrast to red, its opposite in several color models, and green has some general associations with approach motivation. Black, an achromatic color, served as a neutral control. At the end of this and all experiments in this research program, participants received a careful debriefing that probed their awareness of the purpose of the experiment. Results indicated that participants shown red solved fewer anagrams than those shown green or black; those shown green or black did not Volume 16—Number 5 251 Andrew J. Elliot and Markus A. Maier