5 Interesting Ways Color Psychology Is Used Around Us

Color is a fascinating element we are surrounded by but is often overlooked to the impacts it has on our feelings and mood, or even how we make decisions.

Color psychology is pretty interesting and I thought I would share some pretty cool examples how it has shown up for us somewhere along our day and perhaps you didn’t even know it had an influence on you!

Interesting Learning #1.

🧠 The brain processes color before it processes words or shapes.

(McDonald’s figured this out decades ago and is exactly why they chose red and yellow as their brand colors. Red and yellow make you hungry, encouraging you to buy the product they sell, while also making you feel happy. Apparently, red is also known to be stimulating and associated with triggering the active-side of our mental state. It increases your heart rate and, in McDonald’s analysis, initiates your appetite. Aside from yellow being known as a universal color of joy, McDonald’s also understood it is the most visible color in daylight, which influences our behavior to be drawn to driving on up to the golden arches!) [1]

If you’re hooked in wanting to learn a little more about McDonalds, you know - just because, here 75 of the Craziest Facts about the brand you may be entertained by!

Interesting Learning #2.

💊 Ever wonder why medicine, or pills specifically, are a particular color? It isn’t because they are cheaper to to produce because they may be white. In fact, research conducted suggests colored pills are associated with greater pain relief, while red pills are associated with having greater stimulant properties. [2]

In 2015, Wan et al., reported that red-colored pills have the highest alerting effect, while white-colored pills to be best suited for combating headaches, based on participants’ choices. Tao et al. followed in 2017, and did a comparison across cultures. Their findings were that red was being perceived as a stimulant across cultures, and blue as a depressant. Tao et al. did another study in 2018 and reported black and yellow-colored pills being perceived as hallucinogens, white, blue, and green-colored pills being perceived as depressants, while red-colored pills as having stimulant effects. In both studies by Tao et al., it was evident that gender had an effect on certain colors such as blue and black. Furthermore, some perceived expectations can change over time for some colors, and that is why it is important to consider age as an influential factor as well. For example, blue-colored pills used to be considered as a sedative, and after the introduction of the Viagra pill in 1998, the perception of the blue-colored pill changed to having a stimulating effect instead [3]. Additionally, white-colored pills were perceived as the least effective, but more recently, they are perceived as highly effective in treating headaches due to their association with Aspirin [4].

Interesting Learning #3.

🍽️ Want to consume less foodt? Try eating on a blue plate! A study in 2018 found that people who used blue plates ate less than those who ate from a white or red plate. The study concluded that plate color may be a crucial determinant of energy intake during the act of food consumption.

Interesting Learning #4.

👮🏽‍♂️ The city of Glascow, Scotland, in 1999 performed an experiment specifically on Buchanan Street by installing blue street lights. Their primary aim in doing this was for cosmetic purposes. What happened after doing this was unexpected, but had huge impacts on the community. They actually found theft, vandalism, possession of knives, and drug-related crimes were reduced!

Interesting Learning #5.

🏈 Apparently, you should choose a little more wisely on the colors you decide to have for your sports team. Research done from the 2004 Olympics suggest that the color red of the uniform tips the balance into who is more likely to win. When athletes are matched to the same level of competition, like two boxers, the one wearing red seemed to be more likely to be successful.

In the U.S., another interesting research on color and sports team results is when looking at the color black. Apparently, sports teams wearing the color black tend to have more penalty calls against them. When they switched their jersey color, the penalty stats declines.