The Psychology of Color

I am, in general, intrigued by how little things can affect a person's mood and I've invested time before to see how colors make a person act. Forinstance, I know that a blue bedroom is more relaxing than a red one and that McDonald's was extremely selective about its red and yellow color scheme because of how it can potentially impact consumers who are hungry.As I was contemplating my January goals for my Happiness Project, I started to think about how my surroundings can potentially affect my physical health as well as my mood. So I began to do a little research courtesy of About.com (one of my favorite go-to sites for stuff like this).

I found all the usual suspects including blue is a calming color, pink symbolizes romance and orange is very energetic. But I did learn some new information about chromotherapy, or the practice of using colors to heal the body. It's also known as light therapy and is often used in alternative medical treatments. Here is a list of colors and how they can be used for therapeutic purposes:

• 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.

There has also been a lot of research into people and their favorite colors. Researchers have looked at everything from choice of profession, personality type, type of pet and everything in between based on a person's favorite color. I have two colors that I love: blue and yellow. So what does that say about me? Let's start with blue.

Blue is one of the most popular colors, but it is one of the least appetizing. Some weight loss plans even recommend eating your food off of a blue plate. Blue rarely occurs naturally in food aside from blueberries and some plums. Also, humans are geared to avoid foods that are poisonous and blue coloring in food is often a sign of spoilage or poison.

Super Awesome. Anything else?

This color is said to have a calming and relaxing effect. It also symbolizes serenity and infinity since it has been associated with the sea and sky. However, this color has something to do with the feelings of loneliness and depression. People who love the blue shade are considered “cool”.

Um, ok. How about yellow?

Yellow can also create feelings of frustration and anger. While it is considered a cheerful color, people are more likely to lose their tempers in yellow rooms and babies tend to cry more in yellow rooms.

My office is yellow. That explains a lot. And finally...

Yellow means sunshine. It denotes joy, happiness, intellect and warmth. Like the red color, it has also conflicting symbolism. It can be associated with warm feelings but on the other hand, this color indicates deceit and cowardice.

So, to sum up, I'm not very appetizing and enjoy poison. I'm cool, but often depressed. I make babies cry and I'm a coward but at least I'm happy about it and have some intelligence.

Yep, that's me in a nutshell.

You can use the same information I did and come up with your own quirky personality description by visiting Color Psychology and What Does your Favorite Color Tell You. Please post your description here!

Photo Credit:

http://providinginformation.com/recreation/what-does-your-favorite-color-tell-you/

http://www.davidrobb.me.uk/Marine/Yellowtail%20Damselfish.htm