Effects of Color on Emotions
Measures emotional responses to color hue, saturation, and brightness using the Pleasure–Arousal–Dominance framework.
Citation
Valdez, P., & Mehrabian, A. (1994). Effects of Color on Emotions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 123(4), 394–409.
Method
Experiment with Munsell color chips.
Claims used
- Saturation and brightness strongly and consistently affected emotion: pleasure ≈ 0.69 × brightness + 0.22 × saturation; arousal ≈ −0.31 × brightness + 0.60 × saturation.
- Blue, blue-green, green, red-purple, purple, and blue-purple were among the most pleasant hues; yellow and yellow-green were least pleasant.
Limitations: Color chips, not interfaces; the abstract does not state participants' cultural backgrounds.
Extracted principles
- Bright, low-saturation backgroundsNot tested
Use light, low-saturation colors on large surfaces: lightness tends to increase pleasantness while saturation primarily increases arousal.
- Cool hues for large surfacesNot tested
For large colored areas, blue, blue-green, green, and blue-violet may be safer choices than yellow, yellow-green, or brown.
Color