Do Colors Affect Your Mood?

The field of color psychology has been studied in detail and several researchers have come up with their own conclusions about the relation between color and human mood. Human behavior is determined by a change in color and certainly it is worth believing because in everyday life we witness it at every step. Since thousands of years, different combination of colors have been used to paint homes, walls and create a colorful surrounding. So do colors affect your mood? Certainly, it does affect our mood, as people in all cultures have varied perceptions about color. A mere change in the color of your dress can make you look prettier or handsome. Bright colors have been associated to elate the mood and make us happier while dull colors bring boredom and laziness. In a party, for instance, why do you prefer to wear bright colored dresses? Obviously, because colorful dresses certainly enhance the mood and make the atmosphere jovial. Having said that, colors make you feel great and they do affect your mood, I would like to take the freedom to state a fact that opinions about color affecting human behavior are subjective and may be different for various cultures as well as for individuals. Nevertheless, universal meaning of some colors is same throughout the world.

How Colors Make You Feel?
Many people find it a baseless argument when it is said that colors do affect our moods. However, the fact is that most of the time, be it in schools, colleges, homes and workplace, colors indirectly determine our emotional behavior. Even in the medical field, a large number of studies have proved that light of various colors have healing and relaxing ability. Colors are used widely in advertising and marketing only because they have relevance. Colors like red have been known to symbolize courage and valor while green is believed to be a symbol of prosperity. Depending on the culture and traditions you have been brought up, you may form different opinions about color and their effect on our psychology. If you have been wondering about colors and their universal meanings, have a look at how do various colors affect your mood...

COLOR	SYMBOLIZES
White	White has been symbolic of peace and serenity in most of the cultures. In western countries, brides wear white wedding dress while in eastern countries like India, white is worn during mourning or funerals. White also indicates cleanliness and purity.
Black	It is certainly the most misunderstood color. It is the ultimate representation of dark and hence evil. In western countries, black is the color of mourning. Black color is also used as a sign of negation or protest. Fashion experts however point out to the fact that used with right color combination, black dresses convey elegance and sophistication.
Indigo	It is the color of intuition and contemplation. It is perceived as a color that helps in inner communication and promotes innovative thinking. It emphasizes depth in thinking.
Blue	Blue color is calming and the classic example is the sky blue color. Being a universal color, blue color is good for relaxing and it helps in sleep. Blue color is ideally great for bedrooms. In corporates, medium and darker blue colored suits are considered as a sign of intellect, smartness and stability. Blue color is also the color of youth and it has several spiritual connotations.
Green	Green is the color of life and nature. No sight is as pleasing to the eyes as that of greenery because it has a deep psychological effect on our brains. Green stands for growth, revival, development, fertility and health. Dark green also represents money and it is the most restful color for eyes. Green as used in traffic light means safety unlike red. Green is the national color of Ireland and it is usually related to that country. Green is also the color of lslam religion.
Yellow	Yellow color is associated with sunshine. It stands for intellect, joy and happiness. It is a color that has warming effect and it raises the spirits and promotes cheerfulness. Taxicabs are painted in dark yellow color because it attracts eyes and is called the attention getter color. Children's products and anything that brings pleasure and joy is indicated by yellow color. Dull yellow color is related to disease, sickness and dullness in life.
Orange	Orange can be said to have combined effects of colors, red and yellow. It stimulates mental activity and is associated with enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity and determination. Orange is best for promoting eatables and to highlight certain aspects of a design.
Red	Red color is associated to blood, anger violence, if you view the negative side. However, when used with positive sense, red is a symbolic of passionate love (red roses, you know). It is associated with warmth and reflects about life and longevity. Red also indicates passion, lust besides signaling towards survival and security. In China, red color indicates prosperity. It also stands for valor, courage and confidence.
Brown	Generally, brown is seen as a dull color; however, it has been associated to simplicity and friendliness. Being an Earth color, it is also a sign of dependability.
Gray	Being a true neutral color, gray symbolizes emptiness as well as maturity. It is associated with detachment and isolation. It can signify sadness on the negative side. However, it also indicates responsibility, dependability and conservative thinking.
Purple	Purple is the royal color. It indicates wealth, luxury and extravagance. It also conveys mystery, creativity and magic. While light purple is believed to be a romantic color dark purple is said to be a gloomy color or a sign of frustration.
Pink	Being the universal color of love, pink stands for feminine beauty. Being a quiet color, pink conveys grace and deep love. It has the intense energy of red and stability of white. It also promotes feelings of care, tenderness, warmth and love.
Gold	Gold is a symbol of wisdom through prosperity. It also reflects health, longevity and optimism in life. Enjoyment in life and stability are other factors that gold color represents.

This was some information on how colors affect mood. As you must have read, different colors have different types of symbolism and hence every color can have various connotations. Certainly, colors and prejudice is a great topic for debate amongst psychologists and scholars. Now that you know about colors and their meanings, you must be able to know why you like a certain color or dislike some other color. What's your favorite color? Share with us in the comments column below.