Psychological Color Effects
Charli Wilson
The color spectrum can effect a person psychologically. An individual may feel infuriated in a room dyed red or may feel calm in a room bathed blue. As stated in Cricket Demarais’s article, About Color Therapy and Your Auric Field, “Egyptians built healing temples of light four thousand years ago, bathing patients in specific colors of light to produce different effects.” Not only do colors influence our moods, but are reflected upon our persona. Red cause us to feel hot tempered, and it is the color our skin will flush when we become angry. If a person’s skin is cyanotic, they may be lacking oxygen, or their body temperature may have dropped. It’s no wonder that expressions like “green with envy” or “feeling blue” continue to be used in our culture. Pablo Picasso said it well, “Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions.”
Referring again to the article by Demarais, “Scientifically, it makes sense. Color is simply a form of visible light, of electromagnetic energy.” We know that plants need energy to survive, and we as humans need vitamin D, gleaned from the sun for our own health. Color is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “The property possessed by an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way the object reflects or emits light.” Perhaps we are affected differently according to the degree or wavelength we are receiving.
Now, take this theory and test it. Does Mascoutah High School’s color represent the student body accurately? According to Judy Scott-Kemmis in her article: Understanding the Meaning of Colors in Color Psychology “Purple is the color of the imagination. It can be creative and individual or immature and impractical.” How do Mascoutah High School students and teams perform while wearing school colors? How do they feel on Spirit Day?
