The colors of emotions

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Are you in a gray mood today? How about a blue funk? Maybe you’re seeing red, because you’re green with jealousy. According to new research, the colors we use to describe emotions may be more useful than you think. The study found that people with depression or anxiety were more likely to associate their mood with the color gray, while happier people preferred yellow. The results, which are detailed today in the journal BMC Medical Research Methodology, could help doctors gauge the moods of children and other patients who have trouble communicating verbally. “This is a way of measuring anxiety and depression that gets around the need for language,” said Peter Whorwell, a gastroenterologist at University Hospital South Manchester and co-author of the study, in an interview with LiveScience. “What’s very interesting is that this might actually be a better way of capturing a patient’s mood than asking questions.” Colors are often used as metaphors for moods, but no one had systematically studied these color associations, Whorwell said. To conduct research, he and his colleagues selected eight colors—red, orange, green, purple, blue, yellow, pink, and brown—and created four shades of each. They also added white, black, and four shades of gray, resulting in a total of 38 options. After discussing these options with focus groups, the researchers decided to present the colors in the form of a wheel. They then recruited 105 healthy adults, 110 anxious adults, and 108 depressed adults, and sent them printed versions of the color wheel. Each person was asked to choose their favorite color as well as the color that attracted them the most. They were also asked to select a color that reflected their daily mood over the past few months. Another group of 204 healthy volunteers was asked to classify each color as positive, negative, or neutral. Whether depressed, anxious, or healthy, people preferred blue and yellow. Blue 28 on the color wheel was the most popular favorite color among healthy people, while Blue 27 (which is slightly darker than 28) was the top choice among those with anxiety and depression. Yellow 14 was chosen as the color that most easily catches the eye. However, when it came to reflecting mood, the groups differed: only 39% of healthy people associated their mood with a color. Among those who did, Yellow 14 was the most popular choice, receiving about 20% of the votes. About 30% of anxious people chose a shade of gray, and more than half of the depressed volunteers did the same. In contrast, healthy volunteers used a shade of gray to describe their mood only about 10% of the time. The researchers also found that saturation plays a role in associating colors with moods. “A light blue isn’t associated with a poor mood, but a dark blue is,” Whorwell said. “The shade of color is more important than the color itself.” Whorwell is now testing this color wheel with patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome. He hopes that color choices can reveal patients’ attitudes and help predict how well they will respond to treatments such as hypnosis. Since people often feel embarrassed by gastrointestinal symptoms, Whorwell said that non-verbal methods of gathering information can sometimes be more effective than conversation. With further research, he believes this color wheel could be utilized in various medical fields, from pediatrics to surgery. “You now have an instrument,” Whorwell said. “Now it’s up to people to explore its potential applications.” Are you in a gray mood today? Still feeling anxious (blue funk)? Perhaps you are furious (seeing red) because you are burning with jealousy (green with envy). According to the latest research, the colors we use to describe emotions may serve more purposes than you think. This study found that people with depression or anxiety tend to associate their emotions with gray, while happy people prefer yellow. The findings of the study, detailed in today’s issue of BMC Medical Research Methodology published by the British Medical Association, can help doctors assess the emotions of children and other patients with language communication difficulties. ““It’s a way to detect anxiety and depression without using words,” said Peter Whorwell, a gastroenterologist at South Manchester University Hospital and co-author of the study, in an interview with LiveScience. “Interestingly, this is actually a better way to capture a patient’s emotions than asking questions. ” Colors are often used as metaphors for emotions, but no one has systematically studied the connection between colors and emotions, according to Whorwell. In the investigation, he and his colleagues selected eight colors—red, orange, green, purple, blue, yellow, pink, and brown—and then divided them into 4 groups of light and dark shades. Then they added white, black, and four gray shades, bringing the total number of color options to 38. After the group discussion, the researchers decided to present these colors in a circular format. Next, they recruited 105 healthy adults, 110 adult patients with anxiety disorder, and 108 adult patients with depression, and then sent them printed color wheels. Everyone is asked to choose their favorite color as well as the color that attracts them the most. Finally, they were asked to choose the color that best represented their daily emotions over the past few months. The other group consisted of 204 healthy volunteers, who were asked to classify each color as positive, negative, or neutral. Whether in a depressed, anxious state or in good health, people like blue and yellow. Blue No. 28 on the color ring is the favorite color among healthy people, while those who suffer from anxiety and depression prefer Blue No. 27 (slightly darker than Blue No. 28). At the same time, yellow number 14 stood out as the most attractive color. However, when we started discussing emotions, disagreements arose within the group. Only 39% of healthy people choose a single color to represent their mood. Among these people, yellow number 14 was the most popular choice, receiving around 20% of the votes. At the same time, about 30% of people with anxiety chose a certain shade of gray, and the same was true for more than half of those with depression. In contrast, only 10% of healthy volunteers used gray tones to describe their emotions. The study also found that when assigning a mood to a color, saturation is important. “\"Light blue is not associated with poor mood, but dark blue is,\" said Whorwell. “The shade of a color is more important than the color itself. ” Whorwell is conducting the color ring test on patients with irritable bowel syndrome. He hopes that the choice of colors can reflect the patient’s attitude and predict how they will respond to treatments such as hypnosis. Whorewell said that because people feel embarrassed about gastrointestinal symptoms, it is sometimes better to obtain information in a non-verbal way rather than through conversation. He added that further research indicates that color rings may be applicable in fields ranging from pediatrics to surgical procedures. Whorwell said, “Now you have a new tool.” “We need to keep trying to find ways to use this tool more effectively. ” Reposted from Hai Ci Happy English, for sharing among Hai friends