What is color? Have you ever stopped to think how important colors are in our lives?

Psychology has always been interested in how colors stimulate us. Colors have a ways of eliciting a psychological or physiological reaction from us. Every color has a different meaning and interaction with each of us. Today, we are focusing in the psychology of the color red.

Now, stop for a minute and think what things you have associated with the color red. We all have paired some meaning of the color with responses and feelings. For example, we see a red octagon and we think of a stop sign. Think of all the feelings we associate with red: love, warning or danger.

THE PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND THE COLOR

Our responses to colors are simple heuretics or mental shortcuts. These shortcuts allow us to process the information without spending too much mental energy. Alliot et al. (2007) stated that “from infancy onward, persons encounter both explicit and subtle pairings between colors and particular messages, concepts, and experiences in particular situations.”

In other words, we learn to think, react and behave a certain way when we see a specific color. For example, if you go to the market to buy fresh apples and as you are walking by the aisles you see a basket of apples.  As you approach, you notice something peculiar in the basket, all of the apples are blue!

How likely are you to eat a blue apple? The whole concept challenges our encoded information about apples.

THE DOUBLE MEANING OF COLOR

Psychologically, the associations with colors are diverse and at some times contradictory. While red can mean danger , it can also bring pleasure or sexual arousal. Just think of the “Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Valentine’s Day, or red roses.

Elliot et al. (2008) stated that “red leads men to view women as more attractive and more sexually desirable. Red is hypothesized to serve as an aphrodisiac for men because it carries the meaning of sex and romance in the context of heterosexual interaction.” Based on the study, the color red invokes passion, lust and love.  Think of the term red lips.

Red also invokes action; just take a look at cars in the highway.  Red cars are one of the most popular among consumers and also thieves.

The meaning of colors also serves as a self-preservation tool.  Many insects and animals learn to avoid certain animals, fruits or flowers based on their color.  We learn to survive based on the meaning of colors.   Colors help us know if a fruit is ripe or spoiled.

What about you?  What does red mean to you?

References:

Alliot, A., Moller, A., Friedman, R., Maier, M., & Meinhardt, J. (2007, February). Color and Psychological Functioning: The Effect of Red on Performance Attainment. Journal of Experimental Psychology / General, 136(1), 154-168.

Elliot, A., & Niesta, D. (2008, November). Romantic Red: Red Enhances Men’s Attraction to Women. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 95(5), 1150-1164.