Colour psychology can basically be defined as the inquiry into colours and how they have a say on human behaviour. Colour exerts influence on perception which is not noticeable such as the taste of a meal. Colour also has the capacity to improve the efficacy of the placebo effect. For instance, most stimulants usually come in either red or orange colours, this gives the user a thought pattern that the stimulant is bound to perform its exact duties.

Colour can also have influence on an individual. However, it should be noted that such effects would vary between people. Some factors such as the age of an individual, the gender and culture, can impact how a person sees colour. For instance, it would be a common notion for a heterosexual to think that a red clothe improves the attractiveness of a female, while a heterosexual female would deny any clothe outfit which enhances that of men.

In branding and marketing, colour psychology is an important tool. A good number of marketers employ colour in marketing, because it can be utilized in influencing the emotions and perceptions of their potential customers, when it comes to the sale of goods and services. In the creation of logos, companies also put colour psychology to use. These logos can impact customers because the colours which are used, goes in line with the goods or services.

Below are common colours and the emotions and ideas which they are associated with:

• Red: Warning, courage, love, aggression, rage
• Blue: Trust, efficiency, sadness, security, coolness
• Yellow: Energy, fear, frailness, honour, hope
• Green: Health, favour, ambition, passivity, compassion
• Orange: Wisdom, pride, pleasure, desire, loneliness
• Purple: Wealth, impatience, wisdom, dignity, arrogance
• Pink: Joyfulness, lack of willpower, passiveness, calmness, sweetness
• Black: Emptiness, security, coldness, gloom, aggression
• White: Perfection, sterility, cleanliness, coldness, goodness

Colour psychology has a conventional model which is based on six fundamental principles:

• Colour could carry a specific meaning
• The meaning of colour is either based on innate learning or learned meaning
• The discernment of colour induces automated evaluation by the person observing
• The evaluation process induces a behaviour which is colour-motivated
• Colour imposes influence spontaneously
• The meaning and effect of colour has a link with its context

Color is known to be a very powerful tool used to communicate and it influences the emotions and mood of a person in a number of ways. It helps give visual explanation to an obscure quality.

There are reactions one can get by just simply looking at colors which includes feelings of fear, delight, happiness or enthusiasm. We can simply say colors are used to express emotions accurately and visualizing a particular color can affect the mood even without realizing.

There are different colors that are connected to the mood and can cause arousal of various kinds of emotions and feelings.

• Blue

Blue color is associated with the ability to concentrate. It brings a form of calm and peace to the mind and causes a reaction of safety and security. For instance, schools make use of blue color for painting and wall finish because there is a high tendency for the mind to be focused when it is relaxed and that is what blue is known for. Also, feelings of trust, order and serenity is associated with the color blue.

• Red

Red is connected with excitement and passion. It brings enthusiasm, drive and energy to the mind when it is visualized. There are also negative feelings red is connected with, which includes depression and danger. Also red can be combined with other colors to evoke other psychological responses.

• Green

The effect of Green in the mind is always cool and relaxing. Green is used to portray nature and its features. Also it is connected with good luck, health and a feeling of regeneration. The color also depicts different things in various cultural backgrounds.

• Yellow

The color Yellow is used to arouse positive behaviors. It stimulates the mind of the viewer and draws his or her attention. It is a captivating color which is used in different functions.

• Orange

This color is known for the feelings of warmth, comfort and excitement it brings. It arouses the mind to become creative and innovative. It also has the ability to energize and drive one to do things beyond their capabilities.

            Although color has an effect on the mood, psychological reactions to them is personal and are based on an individual experience. It is common for a person to have a strong reaction to a particular kind of color and when this happens it is necessary to actually know the reason why. In doing this, it helps develop the mental health. �Κc� �UpaS�eל/�

A little known aid for treating mental problems, such as anxiety or depression, is with colors. The emerging study of color psychology indicates that the color schemes we are surrounded by in our day-to-day lives have a profound impact on our moods and mentalities. Below are color scheme remedies to some of the most common mental problems.

• Anger. The most effective color schemes for anger are lavender, yellow and green. The lavender helps bring down anger levels with its soothing, calming effects, helping the angry person to transition into a more peaceful state. The yellow promotes positivity which works to bring the individual into a better state of mind. And the green brings the person’s mood back into balance instead of remaining overwhelmingly agitated.
• Anxiety. The most effective color schemes for anxiety are, like anger, lavender, yellow and green. Anxiety is a high adrenaline state, like anger, so the soothing effects of lavender are necessary for quelling the individual’s fear and rampant thoughts. Yellow changes the course of their thinking from negative to positive, while green helps the individual center themselves and use logic.
• Depression. The most effective color schemes for depression are blue, yellow and green. Blue is a color that is commonly associated with depression, so it may come as a surprise that it is recommended for someone with depression. Despite its associations, the strongest studied effect of blue on a person’s psychology is productivity. One of the most noted effects of depression is being unproductive, so the color blue is vitally important to a depressed person. Yellow promotes energy and positivity, another few things that a depressed person is lacking, and green of course promotes balance, which is missing from any mental disorder.
• ADHD. The most effective color schemes for ADHD are lavender, blue and green. Lavender is calming, which is the most important therapeutic component someone with ADHD can receive. Blue helps them become collected enough to organize and plan, while green balances their high energy with calmness and meditation.

• Blue for productivity. Blue is a color that, in Western culture, we often associate with sadness or mysticism. This is our subjective take on it, as blue can represent royalty or power in other parts of the world. This may come as a surprise, but color psychologists have learned through studies that the most universal effect that the color blue has on people is productivity. Psychologists believe this is because blue is associated with calmness, thoughtfulness and organization, and influences those observing it to introspect. Other color psychologists observe that the blue of the sky and of water is overwhelmingly the most blue that humans take in, and its representation of wide open spaces puts distractions out of mind.
• Green for balance. Green is most commonly associated with nature because a majority of plant life on earth is green. Humans take in green largely through nature, so we associate green with natural living and surroundings. Not surprisingly, green has a balancing effect on our psychology. It is fitting that all Western labels that represent organic products or natural living are in green, and catch phrases like “go green” means making an effort to make life practices more sustainable, which is essentially another term for balanced.
• Lavender for calm. This one likely does not come as a surprise either. The things that occur in nature that are lavender are predominately calm times of day and plant life, particularly flora. Purple plant life is largely associated with flowers and herbs, which have therapeutic benefits. The sky is also purple at dawn and at dusk, which are times of day that are associated with serenity.
• Yellow for energy. Again drawing on nature associations, the sun is obviously the most universal source of yellow that people the globe over observe. The sun is, of course, pure energy, so it is entirely logical that we would associate yellow with energy. The psychological effects of being surrounded by the color yellow are that of invigoration and stimulation.

Many people have long associated different colors with moods. This is why we see so much red around Valentine’s Day – because red is the color associated with love, romance and passion. And when someone is feeling down, we commonly say they are feeling blue, because blue is associated with a subdued state of mind. These color associations are deeply ingrained within our culture, but something that many people do not know is that experts have studied the effects of different colors on people’s moods and have created official studies stating which colors are associated with which moods. They are not absolute, but rather represent the most common correlations between color and mood. Some strongly resemble the correlations that people have made culturally while others may surprise people.

There is still a long way for color psychology to come, but what we know for certain is that ranges of colors have a particular range of effects on their human observer, and that these effects can be subjective in nature. In Western culture, white often symbolizes purity and virtue, but in many Eastern cultures, it represents mourning. The most absolute way of understanding color psychology is generalizing certain ranges of colors. Red, orange and yellow are associated with stimulation, ranging from happiness to tension. Blue, purple and green are associated with depressive qualities, ranging from calm to sadness.

You can see color psychology used in interior decorating, marketing and any design related fields. Professions that involve selling have long made use of color psychology to influence their client’s moods and decisions. The more you learn about color psychology and how it relates to moods, the more you can begin to apply this information to your personal space and possessions. Many people have applied this information to the personal decorating scheme in their home, office and even their vehicles. It is a valuable tool considering it can influence you towards energy, calmness clarity and happiness.

The way we design our homes does a lot more than simply say something about us. It also effects us at a subconscious level. The colors we use in our decor schemes have the potential to alter our moods when we take them in. Most people choose colors for their homes on the basis of which colors they like or have seen in a magazine, however, giving thought to the way color schemes effect your mood and disposition can be very important to your day to day mental health, and can alter your state of being for better or worse. Here is a list of decor colors, what affect they have on people and how to utilize them best.

• Blue: the color blue is commonly associated with feelings of sadness when in fact, surroundings that are blue in color have the effect of making a person more productive. Blue is at the calming end of the color spectrum and promotes focus and organization. This is a great color to utilize in your home if you battle laziness and lethargy.
• Green: the color green in commonly associated with natural living, but at a subconscious psychological level, green has a balancing effect on the people it surrounds. This promotes general health in one’s lifestyle and good decision making. Utilizing the color green in your home decor is recommended if you grapple with any mental instability or hardship, ranging from serious ailments such as depression and addiction tendencies to minor ailments such as disorganization.
• Lavender: the color lavender is sometimes thought of as a feminine color, but its true mental association is one of calm. The color lavender statistically has a calming effect on the people it surrounds, which is very beneficial if a person is prone to stress or diagnosed with an anxiety or attention deficit disorder.
• Yellow: the color yellow is often associated with happiness because of its bright appearance, and its studied effect on a person is similar in nature. Yellow surroundings promote energy, making it a great decorating choice for people who have trouble jumping into new things, or for people who battle depression and other energy zapping conditions.