A Cross-Cultural Study of the Affective Meanings of Color

TLDR

Color affective meanings have been studied using semantic differential data from Osgood et al. The study analyzed 89 prior color‑affect studies. Across 23 cultures, affective color meanings show strong universal patterns: RED is salient and active, BLACK and GREY are negative and passive, WHITE, BLUE, and GREEN are positive, YELLOW, WHITE, and GREY are weak, Brightness correlates with positive evaluation but negative potency, and the findings are corroborated by 89 prior studies.

Abstract

Color data from the Osgood et al. 23-culture semantic differential study of affective meanings reveal cross-cultural similarities in feelings about colors. The concept RED is affectively quite salient. BLACK and GREY are bad, and WHITE, BLUE, and GREEN are good. YELLOW, WHITE, and GREY are weak; RED and BLACK are strong. BLACK and GREY are passive; RED is active. The color component Brightness, as determined by comparing data on WHITE, GREY, and BLACK, is strongly associated with positive Evaluation, but also with negative Potency. Eighty-nine previous studies of color and affect were analyzed. They generally support these findings, and, together with the fact that there are very few exceptions in our data or the literature, lead one to believe that there are strong universal trends in the attribution of affect in the color domain.