Basic hue-meaning associations.

TLDR

Color may not only be pleasing to the eye, but may also carry important associations relevant for psychological functioning. The study tested basic hue‑meaning associations while controlling for lightness and chroma. A reaction‑time paradigm was used to examine links between red and green hues and achievement or valence words. Red was linked to failure and negative words, green to success words, demonstrating that hue carries psychologically relevant meaning with implications beyond achievement.

Abstract

Color may not only be pleasing to the eye, but may also carry important associations relevant for psychological functioning. Two experiments were conducted to test for basic hue-meaning associations, controlling for lightness and chroma. Specifically, we used a reaction time paradigm to test for links between red and green, and words that varied in achievement content (failure and success) or valence more generally. Results revealed that red was positively associated with failure and general negative words, and was negatively associated with success and general positive words, whereas green was positively associated with success words only. These findings directly document that hue carries psychologically relevant meaning. Implications both within and beyond the achievement domain are discussed.