Colors have long been associated with emotions--"I am feeling blue" or "The days are gray"--but based on two studies, they may not be entirely metaphors.
The Association for Psychological Science has recently released the results of 2 related studies that show strong emotions particularly sadness can change a person's perception of colors-that is, they are less likely to identify correctly those shades that belong to the blue-yellow axis.
The research, which is already available for reading in Psychological Science, is based on the previous studies that showed the link between visual processes and emotion. For example, a person who's suffering from depression is less receptive to contrast. Since contrast plays a critical role in color perception, the team hypothesized that emotions can also affect the way a person sees colors.
In the first study, 127 undergraduates were recruited as participants. The group was then divided into two, with each randomly given either an amusing or a sad clip to watch. The emotions of the participants were then validated and found to be the ones the researchers intended based on the clip assigned to them.
They then went through with a visual task wherein they had to indicate the exact color of the 48 desaturated patches.
During the analysis, they discovered that those who watched a sad clip did poorly with the blue-yellow axis, but the emotions didn't affect their perception of colors in red-green axis. This initial finding was validated by the second study, wherein participants who watched an emotional film clip didn't do well in the same axis when their data was then compared to those who watched a neutral film.
Although the research doesn't fully explain the link between color perception and emotion, it somehow boosts the relationship between dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that regulates pleasure and reward, and blue-yellow axis.
The researchers hope in the future they can further increase the scope of the study.