Emotions and Color
The academic research of Sutton and Altarriba on Color associations to emotion and emotion-laden words… , state that “individuals often associate colors with various emotional terms. For example, when participants are asked to associate an emotional response with a color, they often associate bright colors (e.g., white, pink) with positive emotions (e.g., happy, relaxed) and dark-colors (e.g., black, brown) with negative emotions (anxious, sad) (Hemphill, 1996). Meier, Robinson, and Clore (2004) found that we tend to infer the valence of a stimulus (good or bad) on the basis of brightness.” Positive emotions are the key to success so color-code your life with bright colors!
Take your cue from nature, the fall months, when the trees provide a canopy of spectacular colors! The season gives you a beautiful canvas filled with an eclectic design of warm browns, reds, yellows and oranges. So, surround yourself with colors that lift your spirit, give you inspiration and the feeling of being enveloped in a warm embrace.
Color Symbolism
One of the most prolific symbols of color is music. Unknowingly, the music you choose at a particular time is an indication of your color need at that time. For example the song, “Happy” by Pharrell Williams is my yellow and when I embrace Bob Marley’s “Get up ,Stand up, Stand up for your right” that’s my red! Personally, the latter tells me to be bold, see the vision and move ahead! Also, it adds a bit of excitement…be red, be enthusiastic about life!
Here are a couple more songs you may also enjoy:
- “You will never walk alone” sung by Andrea Bocelli- simply calming and delightful! That’s my color blue !
- “Rain is a good thing” by Luke Bryan…Yup you guessed it, that’s my color green !
Learning Support:
Short free-course offered by Yale University that you may find useful…“Managing Emotions in Times of Uncertainty and Stress.”
T’s tip: Be colorful… be your flower and live your color!
Connect with us @ https://www.t-worktalk.com
Follow us on social media:Reference: Sutton, T.M., Altarriba, J. Color associations to emotion and emotion-laden words: A collection of norms for stimulus construction and selection. Behav Res 48, 686–728 (2016). https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-015-0598-8
I’m a big fan of music. There is nothing better than gathering with friends to play and sing. That moment when the voices and the instruments come together in harmony is the best feeling I know. What color would that be?
Art, I see happiness and warmth in your experience…tones of yellows and brown. Thanks for sharing!
T.
Love music love colors & love to laugh!!! Enjoyed reading this!!
RenLa, your feedback is appreciated!
T.
Enjoyed the read! Let’s see … what color I’ll be today? Something lively!
Dale.. why not go Violet today?! Thanks for sharing and have a colorful day!
T.
Loves to have fun with music and colors. The color red is spiritual!
Gio,
Your color is your melody… thanks for sharing!
T.
I Love music. Whenever I feel down I turn to cheerful and peppy music for upliftment and rejuvenation.
What color depicts my choice of music?
Hello Leonie, your color is your choice. You could chose a color that the research has indicated is associated with positive emotions . Thanks for sharing!
Very Insightful.
Thank you Everton!
This is so interesting! Definitely see the connection of color and music. Going to pay attention to this more <3
I am glad you found my post interesting and useful. ..Thank you Samantha!
I know I am always big on color. I love when things pop with color! Puts me in a better mood!
Thank you for sharing Amber!
Color symbolism is fascinating. I didn’t know we can relate songs and colors too. My colors will always be yellow and purple.
It is interesting to have to associate a color with an emotion or a song. I like earth tones… so that could be because I love country music?
Hi Eileen, Earth tones (black, brown) are usually considered warm tones but based on the research they also portray sadness / negative emotions. I too love country music and many songs make me feel warm and happy. Good choice! Thanks for sharing.
I love Happy By Pharrell too!! I can see why you’d associate it with yellow x
Thanks for sharing Melanie!
I can’t live without music. I need it often to help lift me up or to help me just feel my sadness.
Hi Monica! Listening to music can be a great activity. Thank you for sharing.
This is interesting! I’ve never thought of color coding my life. Thanks for the idea!
Lyndee, I am glad you found it interesting!