Colour Psychology

Essay by jillieboe11High School, 10th gradeA-, March 2007

download word file, 11 pages 0.0

There have been countless studies and endless research conducted to answer the question, does colour affect people’s psychology? And the answer is yes, without a doubt. Cold hard proof shows that the use of colour has a profound effect on people’s moods and emotions and particular colours have particular effects. The following is the common connotations, colour symbolisation and personality types for the main colours of the colour wheel.

BlackCommon Connotations – Modernity, power, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, style, evil, death, fear, anonymity, anger, sadness, remorse, mourning, unhappiness, mysterious, seriousness, conventionality, rebellion, sorrow. Negativity or the removal of negativity. Outer space, the universe, night. Black is the absence of colours, absorbing all the light of the spectrum.

Colour symbolisation – Black symbolises authority, high stature and power. When worn, it makes the wearer appear more slender and thus is popular in fashion. It is considered stylish and timeless. Black also implies submission, eg.

Priests wear black to signify submission to God. Black outfits are representative of evil. Villains, such as Dracula, often wear black. Black is worn to funerals to represent mourning and loss. The 'evil' characteristics of black are historically religious in nature in the western culture. The irony is that we wear black to funerals but also to the most superior of formal affairs.

Personality Type – Black personalities are methodical statisticians who want every thing done in detail. They are likely to be found in the field of accounting. They tend to always finish what they begin. Although not leaders, they work hard and efficiently under direction. They are problem solvers who easily detect the essence of a problem. They are insistently able to find faults in. People who like black hold things inside and do not like to be touched. They tend to place a...