Natalie Ford & Monica Huttelmayer

How Does Color Affect Your

World?

Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions. – Pablo Picasso

Why we chose Color Psychology

• Interested in finding out how colors affect moods• Wanted to find out if we could manipulate

surveyors moods• Auditory processing vs. Visual Processing

• Is there a barrier between Auditory and Visual Processing?

• Do they directly correlate?• How does the brain play a part in all of this?

Question 1

How do certain colors affect a person’s mood

or feelings?

ClaimUsing red, blue, yellow, and cream colors, we believe that red

will evoke a feeling of anger, love, or warmth. Blue will evoke a

feeling of tranquility, serenity, sadness, or coolness. Yellow will

evoke a feeling of happiness, energetic, or good fortune. Cream

will evoke a feeling of neutrality, stability, or nudity.

Concepts ExploredVisual Processing: “When a person views the world, the brain will

interpret what is seen through visual processing. This allows us to

identify what we see and derive meaning” (King, 2009).

Emotional Response: “a reaction to a particular intrapsychic feeling

or feelings, accompanied by physiologic changes that may or may

not be outwardly manifested but that motivate or precipitate some

action or behavioral response” (Farlex Inc. , 2013).

Materials Color Psychology Questionnaire (refer to “Appendix A”) Box of pens 4 different color fabric swatches (Walmart “Single” brand,

100% cotton, Fat Quarter 18 in x 21 in) (Red, Blue, Yellow, and Cream)

30 random surveyors (15 male, 15 female)

Trial 1: 10 random (5 male, 5 female)

Trial 2: 10 random (5 male, 5 female)

Trial 3: 10 random (5 male, 5 female)

Procedure1. Bring Materials2. Meet at IFC Cafeteria 12:30-1:303. Find 10 random people to survey. (5 Males, 5 Females)4. Introduce yourself and politely ask for a few minutes of their

time5. Background Information6. Color Experiment

a) Show surveyors colors: Red, Blue, Yellow, & Creamb) Have surveyors answer questions about each

corresponding color.c) Thank them for their time!

7. Once 10 random people have been surveyed, pack up materials and return on a new day to do remaining trials.

8. Repeat steps 1-7 until you have surveyed 30 people. Inquiry 1 is now complete!

Evidence

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 30

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Inquiry 1 Majority Responses

Anger Relaxed Happy/Energetic Neutral/Bored

ResearchWhile perceptions of color are somewhat subjective, there are some color effects that have universal meaning. Warm colors: red, orange and yellow

• warmth and happiness• anger and hostility.

Cool colors: blue, purple and green• calm and serenity• sadness or indifference.

Ethnicity, Religion and Gender all had somewhat of an influence on the associations of colors.

• Racism• Spirituality• wedding

ResearchChromotherapy: using colors to heal. Still used today as a holistic or alternative treatment.

• Red was used to stimulate the body and mind and to increase circulation.

• Yellow was thought to stimulate the nerves and purify the body.

• Orange was used to heal the lungs and to increase energy levels.

• Blue was believed to soothe illnesses and treat pain.

• Indigo shades were thought to alleviate skin problems.

Claim Supported?

YES!!!

Question 2How might a person’s mood or feelings be affected if music is

simultaneously paired with certain colors (red, blue, yellow,

and cream)?

ClaimBy pairing music with lyrics specifically chosen to enhance a mood or feeling

opposite of the majority responses from inquiry 1, we can manipulate certain feelings because we believe aural processing is dominant over visual

processing.

Concepts ExploredVisual Processing: “When a person views the world, the brain will interpret what is seen through visual processing. This allows us to identify what we see and derive meaning” (King, 2009). Emotional Response: “a reaction to a particular intrapsychic feeling or feelings, accompanied by physiologic changes that may or may not be outwardly manifested but that motivate or precipitate some action or behavioral response” (Farlex Inc. , 2013).

Concepts ExploredAural Processing: “The ability to hear auditory messages, distinguish between similar sounds or words, separate relevant speech from background noise, and the ability to recall and comprehend what was heard” (speech-therapy-on-video.com, 2006).Emotional Intelligence: "the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions" (Cherry, 2013).

VariableMusic added to manipulate feelings.

Materials• Color Psychology Questionnaire (refer to “Appendix B”)• Box of pens• 4 different color fabric swatches (Walmart “Single” brand, 100%

cotton, Fat Quarter 18 in x 21 in) (Red, Blue, Yellow, and Cream)• 30 random surveyors (15 male, 15 female)• Trial 1: 10 random (5 male, 5 female)• Trial 2: 10 random (5 male, 5 female)• Trial 3: 10 random (5 male, 5 female)• Laptop computer with internet access to access songs, or any

Mobile Smartphone with internet access to access songs• 4 songs found on www.youtube.com:• “I Will Always Love You” – Whitney Houston (paired with red)

“Anchors” – The Amity Affliction (paired with blue)• “Rainy Days and Mondays” – The Carpenters (paired with yellow)• “9TH Symphony Clip” – Beethoven (paired with cream)

Procedure1. Bring Materials2. Meet at IFC Cafeteria 12:30-1:303. Find 10 random people to survey. (5 Males, 5 Females)4. Introduce yourself and politely ask for a few minutes of their

time5. Background Information6. Color Experiment

a) Show surveyors colors: Red, Blue, Yellow, & Creamb) Play song designated for each color.c) Have surveyors answer questions about each

corresponding color and song. d) Thank them for their time!

7. Once 10 random people have been surveyed, pack up materials and return on a new day to do remaining trials.

8. Repeat steps 1-7 until you have surveyed 30 people. Inquiry 2 is now complete!

Evidence

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 30

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Inquiry 2 Majority Responses

Love Sadness/Relaxed Rage/Chaos Motivation

Research• More surveyors responded to the

song, than the color itself. • Even if a stimulus in one modality

is known to be irrelevant to the observer’s response, any signal in the irrelevant modality may serve to enhance processing in the relevant modality.

Claim Supported?

YES!!!

Question 3How might a person’s mood or

feelings be affected if certain colors (red, blue, yellow, and cream) are presented simultaneously with a visual stimulus (picture) and an auditory stimulus (instrumental

song)?

ClaimBy presenting colors simultaneously

with a picture and an instrumental song a person’s mood or feelings can be manipulated to be at odds with one

another due to cross-modal interaction (interaction between two or more different sensory modalities) of

conflicting stimuli.

VariablePicture added with color.

Concepts ExploredAural Processing: “The ability to hear auditory messages, distinguish between similar sounds or words, separate relevant speech from background noise, and the ability to recall and comprehend what was heard” (speech-therapy-on-video.com, 2006).Emotional Intelligence: "the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions" (Cherry, 2013).

Concepts ExploredVisual Processing: “When a person views the world, the brain will interpret what is seen through visual processing. This allows us to identify what we see and derive meaning” (King, 2009). Emotional Response: “a reaction to a particular intrapsychic feeling or feelings, accompanied by physiologic changes that may or may not be outwardly manifested but that motivate or precipitate some action or behavioral response” (Farlex Inc. , 2013).

Materials• Color Psychology Questionnaire (refer to “Appendix C”)• Box of pens• 4 Pictures “Appendices D-G”• 4 songs found on www.youtube.com:

• “Down with the Sickness” Instrumental – Disturbed (paired with “Appendix D”)

• “Morning Light” – Sean Beeson (paired with “Appendix E”)• “Walking on Sunshine” Instrumental – Aly & Aj Michalka

(paired with “Appendix F”)• “4th Symphony” – Mahler (paired with “Appendix G”)

• 30 random surveyors (15 male, 15 female)• Trial 1: 10 random (5 male, 5 female)• Trial 2: 10 random (5 male, 5 female)• Trial 3: 10 random (5 male, 5 female)

Procedure1. Bring Materials2. Meet at IFC Cafeteria 12:30-1:303. Find 10 random people to survey. (5 Males, 5 Females)4. Introduce yourself and politely ask for a few minutes of their

time5. Background Information6. Color Experiment

a) Show surveyors pictures: “Appendices D-G”b) Play song designated for each picture.c) Have surveyors answer questions about each

corresponding picture and song. d) Thank them for their time!

7. Once 10 random people have been surveyed, pack up materials and return on a new day to do remaining trials.

8. Repeat steps 1-7 until you have surveyed 30 people. Inquiry 3 is now complete!

Evidence

Red Blue Yellow Cream/White0

2

4

6

8

10

12

2

3

3

43

21

3

2

4

3

5

5

Trial 1 Majority Responses

Anger Love Confused

Rage/Chaos Relaxed/Sad Happy/Energetic

Motivated/Victorious Neutral/Bored Other

Evidence

Red Blue Yellow Cream/White0

2

4

6

8

10

12

6

3

1

3

7

1

2

5

3

4

5

Trial 2 Majority Responses

Anger Love Confused

Rage/Chaos Relaxed/Sad Happy/Energetic

Motivated/Victorious Neutral Other

Evidence

Red Blue Yellow Cream/White0

2

4

6

8

10

12

3

7

67

4 2

1

6

4

Trial 3 Majority Responses

Anger Love Confused Rage/Chaos

Relaxed/Sad Happy/Energetic Motivated Neutral

Research• Many responses/moods given were “confused”.

Surveyors’ sensory inputs were at odds with one another.

• Aural Processing takes place in the temporal lobe of the brain.

• Visual Processing takes place in the occipital lobe of the brain.

• Parallel Processing• When applying multiple conflicting stimuli the

brain is at odds at how to feel and process information.

• “Information Overload”

Research

Claim Supported?

YES!!!

Ending Thoughts?• Were responses in Inquiry 1 due to

exposure to different elements?• Religion?• Gender?• Ethnicity?• Area from which they live?

• BPMs• If lyrics were to be used in Inquiry 3,

would the all around majority results come up as “confused?”

• Research on hemispheres of the brain?

WorksCited

• BrainyQuote. (2013). Colors Quotes. Retrieved from Brainy Quote: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/colors.html

• Cherry, K. (2013). Color Psychology. Retrieved from About.com: http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/a/colorpsych.htm

• Cherry, K. (2013). What Is Emotional Intelligence? Retrieved April 28, 2013, from About.com: http://psychology.about.com/od/personalitydevelopment/a/emotionalintell.htm

• Farlex Inc. . (2013). Emotional Response. Retrieved from The Free Dictionary: http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/emotional+response

• King, E. N. (2009, April 6). Visual Processing. Retrieved from School Psychologist Files: http://www.schoolpsychologistfiles.com/2009/04/visual-processing.html

• Ltd, A. S. (2010). Neurofeedback. Retrieved from Cyprus Neuro Feedback Center: http://aaiscs.com/NF/about-neurofeedback.html

• speech-therapy-on-video.com. (2006). Stroke Terms in Plain Words. Retrieved from Speech Therapy on Video: http://www.speech-therapy-on-video.com/stroketerms.html

• Thomas G. Ghirardelli, A. A. (n.d.). Auditory-Visual Interactions. pp. 600-601.

Thank You!!