3. The Power of Color

The idea that colors have a particular power is elaborated in this chapter. The effects of color are particularly expressed by artists. Color is regarded as a language without words and it can directly address our emotions and feelings. Green, for instance, has a retiring and relaxing effect, and gives the impression of refreshment, naturalness, and quietness but it is also associated with tiredness and guilt. If colors are connected with meanings and emotions, this may have implications for psychological well-being and functioning. The effects of color on human behaviour and performance are therefore extensively studied. In contexts in which an achievement is expected, perception of red impairs performance, particularly when cognitive analysis, mental manipulations and flexible processes are required. On the other hand, blue enhances performance of a creative task. That the context is important for the effects of colors is shown in studies about contests. In a competitive context the color red influences the outcome of a contest. Also in relational contexts, red seems to be a positive color, for example enhancing the attractiveness of women. Studies of the effect of colors usually have practical implications. The assumed effects of colors on human emotions and behaviors is especially examined in the marketing industry as well as in relation to food.

Since the studies of Goethe in the Romantic era the affective power of colors has attracted growing attention. Colors are characterized as active (plus) or passive (minus), warm or cold. They evoke a range of particular feelings between excitement and energy on the one hand, and relaxation on the other. Goethe relates the power of colors to the associations they generate; they are connected to positive and negative meanings. For this reason, it is difficult to determine whether the effect of colors are produced by the colors themselves, the meanings associated with them, or both. The difficulty is that many studies are not rigorous and controlled for various factors. First, colors have the dimensions of hue, saturation and lightness which are often not distinguished. Second, it is clear that light has an influence on the human organism but frequently no distinction is or can be made between hue and light. Third, many studies are performed in experimental, laboratory conditions in which the context of color vision is disregarded and only the effects of colors are tested. For these reasons, it is often not clear that the experimental findings can be applied in everyday real situations. That does not imply that colors have no effect at all.