#316 Colour Psychology and Neuroscience

Sogand delves into colour psychology and neuroscience to understand how the colours we wear and the colours around us can shift attention, stress, confidence, and mood. She connects research to everyday choices, from why red feels energizing to why black became a millennial comfort colour and why greenery can help our nervous systems recover. Sogand also unpacks:

• How context changes colour meaning and mental health effects 
• Why red grabs attention and increases arousal 
• Mood and culture shaping colour preference including black in millennial style 
• Green and nature cues for stress reduction and mental fatigue recovery 
• Yellow and orange effects on energy, optimism, and social connection 
• Blue as a signal of calm, safety, and professional trust 
• How pink and purple become social signals over time 
• Brown as grounded and cozy environmental design 
• Gold and silver jewellery as reward cues in the brain 

Tune in to Wellbeing Wednesdays with Sogand on The Universal Radio Network, 97.9 FM in Edmonton, or globally at www.theuniversalradio.com.

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Transcript

Why Colours Feel So Powerful

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Good evening, trend listeners. This is Sogand, joining you again with another segment of Wellbeing Wednesdays with Sogand. Tonight I'd like to dive into color psychology and neuroscience. I've been curious about the colors that we wear and if they have an impact on our mental health. I've also been super intrigued by the colors that surround us, and if the research can explain how our environments shape our mood and how we show up to others as well. I can tell you that I gravitate towards the colors black, pink, and red. Today I'm wearing red. More than the other colors. And it is absolutely an informed decision based on my findings when conducting this research. And for our conversation tonight, I have so much science, so much research that might also inform the colors that you choose, or maybe can give you some insight on why you reach for the colors that you do. I can also tell you that there are colors that have historically people have stayed away from, and there's a reason for that. And there are colors that people really gravitate towards. And we're gonna be incorporating all of that into my findings tonight. This is gonna be a super fun one. It's gonna be evidence-backed, and perhaps it will provide you with insight on why when you're looking at your colors in your closet, you reach for specific ones. And why is it that your nervous system feels a particular way when you reach for those colors? We will get right into it. Stay with us.

Context Matters And Enclothed Cognition

SPEAKER_00 1:57

This is gonna be important to remember throughout this conversation because depending on the context in which colors are worn, the meanings attached to them is gonna shift and therefore the impacts it can have on our mental health can too. There's also measured physiological responses that certain colors can have on us based on evolutionary understandings, which are super cool, and we're gonna get to. So whether we wear these colors or we're exposed to them, they do have an impact on us. And lastly, we're gonna talk about a concept called enclosed cognition, and this is a phenomenon in which what we wear changes how we think and behave. It's important to note that this research is ever changing. What we have today might change, and it is based in human behavior, and human behavior changes, especially now with technological differences. But current findings are fascinating, and they can actually inform our decisions today. Like I said, my decision to wear the color I'm wearing today is completely informed by my research today. And while the effects that we'll be discussing are different from individual to individual and experience to experience, they are worth noting nonetheless. So let's get right into it.

Red And The Science Of Attention

SPEAKER_00 3:07

I want you to look at the color you're currently wearing, if it's safe to do so. If you're at a you know, driving, please do that at a red stop. Did you choose this color proactively? Was it just something that there was just clean laundry and you reached for it? Why did you reach for this color? Why not any other color? Do you find yourself often reaching for this specific color? Or is it a safe color for you? Is it something that you have a lot in your wardrobe? Have you ever thought about this? Is it a random choice or is it by design? See, a 2012 study found in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology shows us that what we wear changes our attention, our confidence, our performance, and our self-perception. This is by the work of Adam and Gilinski. As I mentioned at the beginning of our segment, I'm wearing a lot of red today. But why? Well, historically, red has been a color that captivates our attention. It's been shown to make us feel energized and confident. It also just captures attention faster than other colors. That's why a stop sign is in red. Or when you're supposed to stop at the light when you're driving, it's red. I love being on air with you all, Universal Radio, and I just enjoy also being alert and on point. And red also has that impact on you. The neuroscience is clear that red allocates attention signals to our body because it perceives the color to be one of significance. This has got evolutionary backing because the color red was paired with ripeness of fruit or even blushing. A review by Elliot and Mayer in 2014 also concluded that red increases our physiological arousal compared to other colors. This might also be why we have stop signs in red and not any other color. Our visual system has long been sensitive to the color red and it continues to be. So I'm boldly in red. Wish you were here with us delivering this psychoanalysis. And I hope you remember this the next time you see the color red, or if you reach for it, or maybe you're wearing it right now. I have so much more for you.

Mood, Black Clothing, Millennial Meaning

SPEAKER_00 5:18

Carruthers and others in 2010 used the Manchester color wheel and found that mood influences color preference also. Happier participants choose colors like yellow, turquoise, and lighter blue. Those with different emotional affects are likely to choose greys and blacks. I wear a lot of black. And for some time I've thought, is this because I know too much about the world and the socio-political climate of it? Maybe. It could be guided by my feelings towards the injustice in our world and how I feel about it. This is really something I'm thinking about. Per the findings mentioned just now, it would make sense, wouldn't it? If you're listening to this in our millennial, you know this too. Because you'd be interested to know that sociological research actually suggests that life events do shape our behavior. One of the things being the fact that we choose specific colors and gravitate towards specific wardrobes. Many millennials gravitate towards wearing the color black because it's perceived as durable, versatile, and unlikely to go out of style. Combine this with what was happening in Canada while we were growing up in 2008, 2007, 2006, where there were global events like the global financial crisis, rising housing costs, student debt, and wage stagnation that we experienced across regions. It also can make sense why so many of our favorite artists, especially in the punk and in the pop rock role, adopted that emo or goth aesthetic. If you go back and watch those music videos from pop culture, especially from when us millennials were in junior higher high school, you'll see the artists also wore a lot of black. I'm talking my chemical romance, Avril Levine, Green Day, Billy Talent, Ashley Simpson, lots of black. And I think those names would probably bring up some visual imagery for you as well. Naturally, stories like Hot Topic and others featured and created outfits and accessories that reflected what we were watching and what was popular. So now when your millennial heart reaches for that black shirt or that black skirt, you might know why. Black also has become psychosocially profound as we have grown out of those ages too. For example, Steve Jobs' iconic black turtleneck became a symbol of innovation, intelligence, and simplicity. The emergence of social media in the late 2010s also associated the color black with entrepreneurship, business, and professionalism. This was also observed in 2010 with the launch of Instagram, as well as the rise of the minimalist movement in which the color black became a staple aesthetic. So whether it is a matter of cognitive simplicity, social signaling, cultural trend, or economic practicality, it just might make sense why your favorite black dress or your favorite black pants are there and provide so much comfort for your little millennial heart. And if you're not a millennial and you're listening to this, you probably know a millennial that wears still a lot of black. So

Green, Nature, Plants, Mental Recovery

SPEAKER_00 8:22

question Have you ever noticed that hospitals often have gardens or green walls? Why do you think that is? Per the work of Ulrich in 1984, hospital patients with views of trees recovered faster after surgery than those who had windows overlooking something like a brick wall. Now you might think to yourself, but Sogan, sure nature can have a restorative impact on us, but is there evidence supporting similar findings when we wear the color green? And the answer would be yes. Yes, yes, yes. Wearing green can evoke nature-related associations for folks by lowering stress levels, providing emotional balance, and recovery from cognitive fatigue. We have in the past spoken in depth about the calming influence of the color green on our psychology. You can find that segment and others posted by the Universal Network on Spotify, and the links to it can be found on our website too. But yes, Kaplan and Kaplan's research alongside others shows that the color green helps with mental fatigue. This might be why you see many plants around people when they are setting up their office space. Whether those plants are real or artificial, the point is the greenery is there. Ever since I came across this information during those days in lockdown, I say, remember those days? I feel like all of us are nodding. But yeah, I came across this information during those days where a lot of people were really interested in plants. There was an uptake in plants, and I totally jumped on that. Now my house is full of plants. And I did this because I was doing research on why are so many people gravitating towards plants, especially when there was so much news about illness and death, and everything seemed so gloomy. We never knew when we would go back to work, if the world would ever go back to its natural state. One very calming impact that a lot of us had collectively was exposure to nature. A lot of people started walking outside again, they started going to parks again. And if they were in colder climates like ours during the winter time, they were also getting plants. A lot of people started selling plants on things like marketplace. I even sold some, I even bought some. And so I was very curious about this, and it shows that there's also an impact if you're wearing green. Following up on our previous episode where I spoke on arts and crafts and our mental health, listeners may recall that I mentioned that I write my notes in different colors, including the color green. This is also very interesting to me because there are specific colors that I always reach for when I'm doing my notes for our segments, and there are specific colors that I don't, and now I know why. There's also more fascinating research on how wearing green can influence how others see you. Green is often associated with feelings of reliability, stability, and balance. Some people will actually choose to wear green when presenting or giving an exam. For those as captivated by these findings as I, I'd like to include a source that you can do your own further research, and that is called Color Psychology: Effects of Perceiving Color on Psychological Functioning in Humans, 2014, done by Elliot and Mayer. With school preparation around the corner, perhaps this research can help you with your space if you're going back to school or if you have children who are going to school. The color green can provide a very calming atmosphere, and you might choose to fill your space with it, similar to how hospitals fill a lot of their space with greens. If you aren't a student, you'll still benefit from this work by applying it directly in your everyday through the color of green, be it through your stationery, through your crafts, through plants, or at least by acknowledging the beautiful calming impact of just being a nature. Dr. Taurus Wart, who is a neuroscientist that I listened to, talks about this pretty fondly. That one of the colors that we have, from an evolutionary perspective, been exposed to is the color green. So the more we are exposed to it, the better. I'll let you consider this and munch on this information.

Yellow And Orange For Energy

SPEAKER_00 12:34

Let's now talk about warm tones, the yellows, the oranges. We are slowly moving into fall. And I wonder, does wearing such colors have any impact on our mental well-being? What do you think? What do you think? Well, the research says, of course. The psychological effects of yellow and orange have actually been heavily studied in color psychology, environmental psychology, marketing, and neuroscience. The research here actually suggests that yellow and orange are able to influence our mood, our energy, and our social behavior depending on individual preferences, context, shade, saturation. So for some, soft shades of yellow and orange promote positive emotions, and for others, super bright colors can be overstimulating. Janice Cotte and others in 2020 found that yellow is most commonly associated with joy, optimism, and amusement. I'm recalling how yellow is used in branding. Like when I was in elementary, we always had friezies, and these friezzies were like long frozen fruits given to school kids on the last day of school or when it was really hot. I remember most of those friezies being yellow. Yellow has also been seen to appear in a lot of children's classrooms, and also for marketing educational materials to them. The color orange on the other side is seen in spaces that facilitate social connection. Many gyms have the color orange, such as Orange Theory Fitness. Have you ever noticed that? Planet Fitness is what? Yellow. And so, is that by design? Perhaps I don't know. I can't speak for them. But now when I see those brandings, I'm gonna think, hey, this is making me feel energetic and optimistic. And so what we are surrounded by obviously has an impact on us, but also wearing yellow may help folks feel more energized, optimistic, curious, and creative. Wearing orange can help us feel more outgoing, socially connected. As you may have picked up thus far in our conversation, this color psychology is less about a one-size-fits-all ideology, but more so on how these colors are used to help bring about certain emotions for different people. Like most things in life, this influence is going to be different from person to person and experience to experience. But the research is clear that colors do in fact have huge impacts on us, whether it's colors that we wear or colors that we are exposed to. So now when you see them in advertisements, stationery, clothing, and etc., you might have some clues as to why those specific colors were chosen. Palmer and Schloss's work in 2010 discusses this in further detail for those interested in learning more. The research is called an ecological valence theory of color preference, and this can be found in the proceedings of National Academy of Sciences.

Blue For Calm And Performance

SPEAKER_00 15:33

Now let's talk about the color blue. Does being exposed to blue have any impact on us from a neuroscience perspective? Sure does! Elliot and Mayer in 2014 conclude that blue is consistently attached to calmness, relaxation, and reduced physiological activation. The color blue has also been seen to involve our brain's salience network, which helps us determine whether something is a threat to us or not. Blue actually is associated with feelings of safety. And this is due to our evolutionary palate, also, of blue skies, blue masses of water. Blue may also help reduce amygdala activity and support parasympathetic recovery, which is that rest and digest. And this can explain why a pool of water can be calming for some, or sitting in front of a beach can also be super impactful on that zen and approaching that zen. Mehta and Jou in 2009 found that blue improved performance because it promotes an approach-oriented exploratory mindset. Some laboratory studies have also added to this by stating that blue lighting or blue environments can produce small reductions in heart rates, blood pressure, and subjective stress. There's also research showing that some wear blue to interviews and meetings to actually activate a sense of calm, increase feelings of safety, and reduce perceived stress. Light blue is connected to openness, relaxation in many cultural contexts. Whereas navy blue, for example, is associated with trust, competence, and professionalism. Hence, you will see military or police personnel at the top of the command chain wearing a lot of blue. The more you know. And for those of you that are wanting to explore more of this, you can look into a 2006 published study by Cooler, Balal, and others called The Impact of Light and Color on Psychological Mood, a cross-cultural study of indoor work environments.

Pink And Purple Are Learned Signals

SPEAKER_00 17:39

Let's now speak on the socialization of colors. As you've heard today, exposure to colors has been shown to have incredible influence on our mental health, clothing choices, and our environments. But colors are not always regarded the same across cultures, are they? They're not across timelines either. The context in which the color is seen is also of great importance. I'd like to shift your attention now to the colors pink and purple, for example. Per the work in development psychology, pink and purple are super popular and heavily studied. Prior to the 1940s, pink was actively considered a boy color in many parts of North America and Europe. This definitely changed in the mid-20th century when manufacturers and retailers began standardizing pink for girls, and this research is detailed by Paloletti in 2012 and is called Pink and Blue, Telling the Boys from the Girls in America. What is so astonishing to me is that infants under two years old don't actually show gendered color preferences. We see these begin to form after the age of two into the age of four or five. Color norms and gender schema, they are important to note here. Is color simply a visual preference or one that has a social signal? Psychologist Sandra Bren in 1981 proposed that we must look at the social context in which these colors exist in. So Lebu and the Lochte in 2011, they add to this with their research and they add to the concept of gender identity and awareness of cultural norms when it comes to colors. For many, pink has become associated with softness, femininity, and playfulness. Purple, on the other hand, symbolizes royalty, spirituality, and luxury. Why is that? Because again, when we look historically, purple dyes were actually quite expensive. And there was a moment in time where only the elite could afford purple dies. So therefore, our brains learn meanings, and these meanings of pink and purple have adjusted through repeated experiences through different times in different contexts. So how you feel wearing these colors is going to be largely dependent on the value that your environment is attaching to them and also the value that you yourself attach to them. Super cool stuff. I love the color pink. I love looking at it. I love how it makes me feel. Purple is a color that I haven't always worn, but now that I know that it's associated with luxury and expensiveness, maybe I will, you know what I'm saying?

Tree Hugging, Brown, Grounded Comfort

SPEAKER_00 20:21

So hey, I have another question for you. I'm just asking you a bunch of questions today, hey? Have you ever hugged a tree? If so, did the tree bring you some calming impacts? And that impact, did you feel it throughout your whole body? Well, if you haven't hugged a tree, the good news is we have a lot of trees for you to hug in our beautiful city. Lots of parks too. You know, I've lived in different parts of the world, and not all of the cities that I've lived in have had such great access to greenery. So if you're not taking full advantage of that, maybe you should if you're able to, of course. I do really encourage you to do this. But if you haven't hugged a tree, maybe you could challenge yourself to do so. And if that's a bit weird for you, that's okay. You can at least try to put your hand on the tree instead. See, there's even meditations for this. They're free of charge on YouTube, and you can try it out. You can try it, see how it makes you feel. But for now, I just ask that you envision this experience. You see a lot of green in your vision, right? But you're also likely seeing some brown too. What do you associate with the color brown? Research shows that brown is connected to feelings of security and groundedness. This is covered in Palmer and Scholas's ecological valence theory of 2010, where the color brown is linked to wood, forests, and earth. Neuroscience believe that familiarity or unfamiliarity with a color predicts our brain's need to stay vigilant, and because our brain likes patterns and it likes predictability, the color brown. Is so often associated with feelings of calm, serenity, and safety, and it impacts our nervous system and it shifts it towards feeling more tranquil. This is also why you might find cafes and bookstores around you having the color green. There's a lot of brown in their wood finishes, their furniture, their paintings. Warm browns can evoke coziness and comfort. Brown and clothing can convey a message that a person is humble, practical, reliable. To test this out, I challenge you to go out and touch a tree or hug a tree when you can. Take some deep breaths when you do so. Let me know what it does for you. I feel like it's gonna be an experience you'll never forget.

Gold, Silver, Dopamine, Final Takeaways

SPEAKER_00 22:48

So, if you're anything like me, you likely love jewelry, silver and gold. But how would I tell you that even the colors in which you choose to wear when you wear jewelry can have an impact on you? Bet you didn't see that one coming. See, gold and silver can actually activate our brain's reward system through symbolic meanings, and these meanings include status, value, achievement, and belonging. Here's the neuroscience on the brain regions involved here. Ready for the science? Let's get into it. The ventral tegmental is called the VTA. So the ventral tegmental area, VTA, releases dopamine in response to rewarding experiences. The nucleus accumbens is included in motivation and reward anticipation, and the orbitofrontal cortex, which is the OFC, actually evaluates the value and desirability. So Knutson and others in 2007 demonstrated that the anticipation of valued rewards actually activates our brain's reward circulatory. And this isn't necessarily the gold and silver that's doing this, but the brain's response to the meanings that we attach to the gold and silver that is involved in this dopamine circuit. By the way, this whole process is called the mesolimbic reward pathway. Zinc and others in 2008 found that social status and reputation influences activity in our reward-related brain regions. Also, humans are just really attracted to shiny objects. From an evolutionary perspective, this could be because shiny objects resembled food resources and valuable resources. Barrett's work in 2010 discusses this and suggests that visual features are associated with resource availability and attraction. Also, it's important to note that our visual attention systems appreciate gold and silver because they activate the occipital cortex, which is responsible for visual processing, the parietal attention rewards, and frontal eye fields. So now you know why you like me might enjoy some jewelry. I hope you enjoyed the science behind the colors that we wear and the colors that we choose to adorn ourselves with. To me, self-expression is an act of self-love, an act of self-care, and I'm grateful to be able to share my research and my findings with you all. I hope you're able to make more informed decisions now about the colors in which you reach for or colors that you create with. And I can't wait to join you again next time. I hope you stay colorful. We are surrounded by so much beautiful imagery and a plethora of colors. We just have to train ourselves to look at it and find it. So often we are so busy that we are not able to look at this, but maybe this is a reminder that we should, myself included. Talk to you again so soon. Hi, turn listeners. Thank you so much for tuning in to this segment of Wellbeing Wednesdays with Sogand. This is Sogand. I hope that you enjoyed our segment tonight. I hope that you're able to now make more informed decisions about the colors that you reach for, the colors that you use for your stationery, the colors that you wear, and the colors that you surround yourself with. I hope you found the neuroscience as interesting as I did. And I hope that you are able to implement this color psychology and this research back facts into your life. Thank you for joining us, and I'll catch you next time. Bye.