Do we feel colours? A systematic review of 128 years of psychological research linking colours and emotions

Details

Ressource 1Download: Jonauskaite_Mohr_2025_Psychonomic_Bulletin_Review.pdf (4115.67 [Ko])
State: Public
Version: Final published version
License: CC BY 4.0
Serval ID
serval:BIB_B253AB8F092C
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Publication sub-type
Minutes: analyse of a published work.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Do we feel colours? A systematic review of 128 years of psychological research linking colours and emotions
Journal
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
Author(s)
Jonauskaite Domicele, Mohr Christine
ISSN
1069-9384
1531-5320
Publication state
Published
Issued date
13/01/2025
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Language
english
Abstract
Colour is an integral part of natural and constructed environments. For many, it also has an aesthetic appeal, with some colours being more pleasant than others. Moreover, humans seem to systematically and reliably associate colours with emotions, such as yellow with joy, black with sadness, light colours with positive and dark colours with negative emotions. To systematise such colour–emotion correspondences, we identified 132 relevant peer-reviewed articles published in English between 1895 and 2022. These articles covered a total of 42,266 participants from 64 different countries. We found that all basic colour categories had systematic correspondences with affective dimensions (valence, arousal, power) as well as with discrete affective terms (e.g., love, happy, sad, bored). Most correspondences were many-to-many, with systematic effects driven by lightness, saturation, and hue (‘colour temperature’). More specifically, (i) LIGHT and DARK colours were associated with positive and negative emotions, respectively; (ii) RED with empowering, high arousal positive and negative emotions; (iii) YELLOW and ORANGE with positive, high arousal emotions; (iv) BLUE, GREEN, GREEN–BLUE, and WHITE with positive, low arousal emotions; (v) PINK with positive emotions; (vi) PURPLE with empowering emotions; (vii) GREY with negative, low arousal emotions; and (viii) BLACK with negative, high arousal emotions. Shared communication needs might explain these consistencies across studies, making colour an excellent medium for communication of emotion. As most colour–emotion correspondences were tested on an abstract level (i.e., associations), it remains to be seen whether such correspondences translate to the impact of colour on experienced emotions and specific contexts.
Keywords
Colour, Affect, Emotion, Perception, Association, Preference, Cross-cultural
Open Access
Yes
Funding(s)
University of Lausanne
Swiss National Science Foundation / Careers / P0LAP1_175055
Swiss National Science Foundation / Careers / P500PS_202956
Swiss National Science Foundation / Careers / P5R5PS_217715
Swiss National Science Foundation / Careers / PZ00P1_223781
Swiss National Science Foundation / Projects / 100014_182138
Create date
13/01/2025 18:55
Last modification date
14/01/2025 7:17
Usage data