Effects of color–emotion association on facial expression judgments

Color and emotion are metaphorically associated in the human mind. This color–emotion association affects perceptual judgment. For example, stimuli representing colors can affect judgment of facial expressions. The present study examined whether colors associated with happiness (e.g., yellow) and sadness (e.g., blue and gray) facilitate judgments of the associated emotions in facial expressions. We also examined whether temporal proximity between color and facial stimuli interacts with any of these effects. Participants were presented with pictures of a happy or sad face against a yellow-, blue-, or gray-colored background and asked to judge whether the face represented happiness or sadness as quickly as possible. The face stimulus was presented simultaneously (Experiment 1) or preceded for one second by the colored background (Experiment 2). The analysis of response time showed that yellow facilitated happiness judgment, while neither blue nor gray facilitated sadness judgment. Moreover, the effect was found only when the face and color stimuli were presented simultaneously. The results imply that the association of sadness with blue and gray is weak and, consequently, does not affect emotional judgment. Our results also suggest that temporal proximity is critical for the effect of the color–emotion association (e.g., yellow–happiness) on emotional judgment.

Universal Patterns in Color-Emotion Associations Are Further Shaped by Linguistic and Geographic Proximity

Many of us “see red,” “feel blue,” or “turn green with envy.” Are such color-emotion associations fundamental to our shared cognitive architecture, or are they cultural creations learned through our languages and traditions? To answer these questions, we tested emotional associations of colors in 4,598 participants from 30 nations speaking 22 native languages. Participants associated 20 emotion concepts with 12 color terms. Pattern-similarity analyses revealed universal color-emotion associations (average similarity coefficient r = .88). However, local differences were also apparent. A machine-learning algorithm revealed that nation predicted color-emotion associations above and beyond those observed universally. Similarity was greater when nations were linguistically or geographically close. This study highlights robust universal color-emotion associations, further modulated by linguistic and geographic factors. These results pose further theoretical and empirical questions about the affective properties of color and may inform practice in applied domains, such as well-being and design.

What Color as an Integrated Pictorial Element in Himalayan Art Can Communicate: Cross-Cultural Congruence of Color-Emotion Conceptualizations in Himalayan Art

The idea of art as a language of emotion has historical roots. This study asked if color, as an integrated pictorial element in Himalayan art, can communicate the intended emotions to North American viewers. To investigate the extent to which those emotions are congruent cross-culturally, participants were assigned to four conditions of varying levels of informativeness, based on whether they did or did not receive an informational brochure and a checklist of emotional terms to reference. Results were analyzed using Latent Semantic Analysis to assess the similarity of word meanings. Participant responses were compared to the emotions that should be conveyed according to Himalayan culture and curators of an exhibit on Himalayan art. Cosine values were generally high in all conditions, indicating that certain colors (i.e., red, black, and gold) can convey consistent emotional information to viewers from very different cultures, even with little or no corresponding verbal material.

Classification of the Era Emotion Reflected on the Image Using Characteristics of Color and Color-Based Classification Method

Paintings convey the composition and characteristics of artists; therefore, it is possible to feel the intended style of painting and emotion of each artist through their paintings. In general, basic elements that constitute traditional paintings are color, texture, and composition (formative elements constituting the paintings are color and shape); however, color is the most crucial element expressing the emotion of a painting. In particular, traditional colors manifest the color containing historicity of the era, so the color shown in painting images is considered a representative color of the culture to which the painting belongs. This study constructed a color emotional system by analyzing colors and rearranged color emotion adjectives based on color combination techniques and clustering algorithm proposed by Kobayashi as well as I.R.I HUE & TONE 120 System. Based on the embodied color emotion system, this study confirmed classified emotions of images by extracting and classifying emotions from traditional Korean painted images, focusing on traditional painted images of the late Joseon Dynasty. Moreover, it was possible to verify the cultural traits of the era through the classified emotion images.