Colors are one of the key elements of life of almost all people, because they are present in every object of the material world.
Information on the meaning of colors in psychology may allow people to get to know each other better and understand the mechanism of formation of color preferences.
The history of color symbolism
Long since people were interested in flowers, associated them with the gods, endowed every shade specific properties.
Even in the stone age of color already made a difference to people.
Red was associated with blood, meat, fire, black - with death, white - with purity and good.
With the development of human society the attitude towards flowers has also changed. Some colors became associated with the higher strata of society — the priesthood, the nobility, and royal families, since it was they who could afford to dye clothes in rare and expensive dyes.
Interesting information from the history of color symbolism:
- yellow in China has long been the color of the Emperor, and the general population was deprived of the opportunity to wear clothes that were painted in that color. In the European part of the world purple, purple and red were considered royal colors;
- in astrology - parascience, arisen long before our era, - colors associated with astronomical objects, which, according to this direction, are able to influence the behavior, character and future of people. Red is Mars, green is Saturn, orange is the Sun, blue is Venus, yellow is Mercury, and purple is the Moon.
Color Psychology:
Impact on well-being
The ability of flowers to render effect on mental well-being human proven by various studies.
For example, one of them showed that blue lighting on the streets can significantly reduce the crime rate, and the other - that sentences written in green are better remembered.
Throughout its development, humanity has endowed each color with the ability not only change mental but also physical condition.
Direction in alternative medicine, the driving force of which is the idea that colors are able to cure diseases, is called color therapy.
But, unfortunately, studies have not shown that colors can cure something, therefore, people interested in color therapy techniques, should be combined with evidence-based medicine.
Features of the influence of colors on well-being:
- Red. This is the main color of the warm part of the spectrum, so it has the most powerful stimulating effect on the human psyche. This color is able to give strength and energy, to cheer up, helps restrained people to open up, enhances sexual desire. At the same time, it increases aggressiveness, irritability, and prolonged contact with it tires and causes exhaustion.
- Orange. An intermediate color between yellow and red, which absorbs both positive and negative features. As well as other colors of the warm part of the spectrum, it is able to cheer up, make a person more active and active, raise his spirits. It is a juicy, attractive shade, which most people are closely associated with mandarins and oranges.
- Yellow. This color enhances brain activity, helps people come up with new ideas, improves memory and attention. He also has an invigorating effect on the psyche, uplifting. Its exciting effect is softer than that of red or orange.
- Green. This color has a mild sedative effect, softens the expression of emotional lability, helps to fall asleep, has a positive effect on cognitive abilities.
- Blue. Able to calm, reduces internal stress, improves mood, helps to tune in to work, increases interest in cognitive activity, creates a safe and comfortable environment.
- Blue. It has a pronounced sedative effect, a positive effect on the condition of people suffering from neurosis and anxiety disorders, helps to cope with stress. At the same time, its dark shades are able to affect the psyche oppressively.
- Violet. Color creative people. It helps to find inspiration and come up with new ideas, has a positive effect on cognitive abilities, enhances sensuality.
Dark purple color, not diluted with other colors, can adversely affect the course of depression during prolonged contact with it.
- White. Helps to get rid of negative thoughts, calms, able to stabilize mood. It is well combined with the majority of flowers, softens their negative influence. Moreover, its abundance can cause melancholy.
- The black. This color has long been endowed with gloomy characteristics, but this does not prevent it from being one of the favorite colors of most people. He helps a person to gather, maintains willpower, is able to calm. In this case, you should not go over the interior with it: it acts extremely depressingly on the psyche.
Effect of color on the subconscious:
Personality Psycho
In psychology, there is a mass of personality psychotypes, and color - one of them.
According to him, people can be divided into four color psycho: blue, yellow, red, green.
Characteristics of psycho:
- Blue. "Blue" people are distinguished by pragmatism and usually choose technical professions. Their emotional restraint sometimes prevents them from finding a common language with strangers, but with close people they reveal themselves. These people are focused on leadership, as they prefer to have maximum power over the situation.
- Yellow. Communicative abilities of "yellow" people are developed almost to the maximum. They easily attract the attention of others and have a large number of friends. Their professional choice is the social sphere: educators, teachers, doctors, psychotherapists.
- Red. They are filled with energy to the top and strive to spend it with maximum benefit. These are strong, strong-willed people, seeking leadership. Sometimes they are inherently hot, aggressive.
- Green. Such people are doing everything possible so that those around them are considered experts in areas that are important to them. These are intellectuals who love to reason, explore and develop. Each step is calculated in advance, so reckless actions are not about them. Also inherent stubbornness.
Of course, each person is a mixture of several types, but in most cases there is always some predominant color type.
Color preferences in clothing
Clothing is social marker, which allows others to assess the wearer's personality, his mood, taste, hobbies, the ability to work productively and much more.
Therefore, the ability to combine colors is very important for those who want to make a definite impression - good, neutral or negative.
The choice of colors in clothes is usually directly related to the color preferences of a person and his mood at the moment of choosing clothes. If a person regularly puts on things of certain shades, they can help to know his personality better.
The man who chose clothes of red color, differs by purposefulness, vigor and seeks to do everything possible in order to achieve the goal, even if it will have to go over the heads. He is sociable, he is characterized by aggressiveness, temper, incontinence.
Blue colour choose discreet people, practical, seeking harmony and comfort.
To deserve their location is difficult, but if this happened, such a person would be ready to go to great lengths in order not to lose the one who became important to him.
Rational, thinking people who love creativity, often choose purple. Young people who tend to be different from the mainstream are more likely to prefer bright and bright colors.
Pink - the color of infantilism, excessive dreaminess, lightheadedness, romance. Such people are poorly adapted to difficulties and seek to find the person who will protect them.
People who prefer clothes green color, charming, decisive and able to maintain composure, even in the most difficult situations.
Yellow they prefer sociable, good-natured, bright people who can make a positive impression on others.
The man who chose brown clothes, practical, seeks to consistently solve problems, is accurate and prioritizes quality, not speed.
Grey colour - The choice of restrained people who can hardly trust others. Light gray lovers are sociable and balanced.
White color choose idealists and romantics who do not forgive lies and betrayal.
The person in whose wardrobe prevails black color, often has low self-esteem, hidden and mysterious. It’s not always easy to find a common language with him.
The effect of color on a person and the meaning of color in clothes:
Features of perception by a woman and a man
Testosterone - the main male hormone - reduces color sensitivity, so men are worse than women, distinguish colors.
Tetrahromat - people whose color sensitivity is extremely pronounced - among women also more than among men.
Improved color perception in women is due to the fact that there are two X chromosomes in their DNA, and not one. This is especially true the ability to recognize shades of red.
An experiment was conducted in which men and women were blinded with bright color for a while, and women thereafter were better distinguished than men by distinguishing colors.
Green shades men are more likely to see in a more yellow scale, and women - in green.
Orange color men identify as red-orange rather than just orange.
Men tend to think their favorite colors are neutral, while women are bright.
Value in psychology in children
Psychological tests designed for children, able to display their mental state, mood, attitude towards themselves and to others, relationships with family.
A child is offered to draw a drawing on a specific topic, for example, to depict a house or a tree, and the psychologist evaluates the drawings and thanks to them he understands which children need help.
Colors in such tests are key. But colors in ordinary children's drawings can tell a lot about a child.
- The black - hostility, longing, a sense of hopelessness. However, you should be worried only in those cases when there is a lot of black in the drawings.
- Red - activity, energy, the desire to be in the center of attention, selfishness. If a quiet child suddenly began to use red color in drawings, this may indicate that he is mentally exhausted and may show aggression.
- Pink - the need for support, excessive sensitivity.
- Yellow - dreaminess, some irresponsibility, sociability. If a child often draws in yellow, it means that he is comfortable among those around him.
- Green - Developed intelligence, craving for fantasy. Also green can mean loneliness, lack of attention from loved ones.
- Blue - seriousness, thoughtfulness, friendliness. If a child chooses darker shades of blue, this may indicate his stolid mood. Some children begin to actively draw blue when they feel the need to be at rest.
- Brown - this child is closed from others, lives in his own world for some reason. Often the abundance of brown in the figure indicates the presence of problems in the family.
Also important and number of flowersthat the child uses.
Healthy, satisfied children of 4-6 years old usually use at least four or five colors in the drawing, and if their number is less than three, then this may indicate the presence of problems in the mental state.
Luscher Test
Luscher Test - This is a test, during which a person selects from the group of color cards those that are most pleasant or unpleasant for him, until they run out.
It allows you to determine the personal characteristics of the person taking the test, his mood, problems, mental well-being.
Each color in the test has its own designation. In the test four additional and four primary colors.
Primary colors briefly:
- Blue. Indicates satisfaction, harmony, peace. Also means the need for satisfaction and reliable attachment.
- Blue green Indicates confidence, dedication, stubbornness. It also indicates the desire to raise their own self-esteem, to rise in the eyes of others, to achieve their goals.
- Orange Red. Indicates the will, aggression, also shows the need for vigorous activity, leading to the necessary results.
- Light yellow. Indicates communication, joy, activity. It also means the desire to have dreams and hopes for a bright future.
Additional colors are brown, purple, black, zero. Indicate negative trends: fear, stress, chagrin, anxiety.
Results are interpreted depending on the sequence in which a person chooses color cards.
If a person chose the primary colors first, it means that his needs are met either he thinks so. Otherwise, it can be said that his needs are not met.
About Luscher color test in this video:
Table
This table presents the primary colors and gives information about what they symbolize.
| Red | Red color in psychology symbolizes energy, inner strength, activity, power. This is the color of the leader. At the same time, it is also associated with aggressiveness, irritability, anger, and intransigence. Also red color can cause positive feelings, such as joy, pleasure, especially if successfully combined with other colors. |
| Orange | It symbolizes activity, energy, purposefulness. Much depends on the proportions in which it combines red and yellow. If the orange is more red, it may be associated with aggressiveness. Orange, along with yellow, is the color of joy, happiness, prosperity. |
| Yellow | Symbolizes joy, activity, warmth, wealth, intelligence. At the same time, not all people associate with him exclusively positive phenomena. For example, in the majority of people there is a perception that yellow is the color of separation, treason, although this is not quite the case. Also yellow is known as the color in which walls in psychiatric hospitals (psychiatric hospitals) are painted. The golden color associated with it symbolizes wealth, beauty, glory and wisdom. |
| Green | Symbolizes harmony, calm, happiness, development. This color, like blue, is considered one of the most pleasant colors for perception, since it is closely associated with nature. Also, green is considered a color of reliability. He well soothes the eyes. |
| Blue | Symbolizes calm, poise, cognition, development. It is often, along with blue, used in the development of design sites and software, since it is considered the color of trust (but blue in this regard is preferable). He is also able, like green, to calm his eyes well. |
| Blue | Symbolizes calm, harmony, luck, loyalty, knowledge, development. This is the color of customer confidence, so it is often chosen as the primary color in the design of advertising and in the design of sites. Indigo color - a deep dark blue color with blotches of violet - personifies mystery, eternity, leadership. |
| Violet | It symbolizes wisdom, mysticism, fantasy, creativity, knowledge. This is the color of creativity, so it is often used in advertising products for creative people. Also this color is considered the color of solitude. |
| Gray | It symbolizes practicality, anxiety, sadness, routine. At the same time he is one of those classic colors that can be successfully combined with almost any shades. In Europe, gray is considered the color of gentlemen. |
| Brown | Symbolizes stability, reliability, stability, comfort, safety. It is rarely chosen by young people. |
| White | Symbolizes tranquility, harmony, traditionalism, spirituality. In some countries, white is considered the color of grief and death. |
| The black | Symbolizes mystery, stealth, isolation, depression, melancholy. This color is most often associated with negative rather than positive associations. But it’s definitely not worth it to be definitely negative. |
Every color in psychology is important., each carries certain characteristics, and if you know their characteristics, you can better understand the people around you.
Basics of color theory:
