In 1938 a gentleman by the name of Faber Birren began to monitor the psychological reactions of people to Color and he noted the free expression of distinct likes and dislikes. Although being the son of a well-known Chicago painter, and tutored in art he concentrated on the effects of Color on the body, mind and soul. This led him to research psychology, psychiatry, mysticism, symbolism, astrology, alchemy, religion, healing, psychoanalysis to name just a few. He is literally one of the pioneers of the science of Color and the human personality.
However, independent to his own research there were people like Hermann Rorschach who had been noting the different reactions to Color by normal and neurotic persons, and E R Jaensch who wrote a book called “Eidetic Imagery” and which noted that many extroverted persons were drawn to the warm end of the Color spectrum whereas the more introverted persons were drawn to the cooler end of the spectrum. Faber Birren wrote a little book in 1940 called “Character Analysis through Color” which was some seven years before the first Luscher Color test, some nine years before B J Kouwer’s “Colors and Their Character” and some ten years before M Pfister’s Color Pyramid Test in 1950.
Herman Rorschach, a son of an art teacher and who took a keen interest in the study of medicine and an early interest in mental illness is the creator of the psycho-diagnostic tests using ink blots which are familiar to most people even today. These plates were simply made by splashing black and Colored inks onto paper and then folding the paper to form abstract patterns, and as so many children in art classes today say “butterflies”. These abstract designs were shown to disturbed patients who were then asked to describe their feelings and reactions. In 1921 Hermann Rorschach published his plates of which five were in black and white, two in black and red and three in full Color. Today these plates are widely employed within neuro-science and in the diagnosis of human psychoses, neuroses and organic brain disorders.
The Color Pyramid Test introduced by Max Pfister, a Swiss psychologist used the test to reveal deviant personality characteristics. The test consisted of a black and white squares pyramid chart. The client then chose twenty four small squares of different shades and tones of red, green, blue, purple, yellow, orange, brown, black, white and grey. Six different charts were drawn up with the instructions of “any way you please” or “pretty as you can” or further “as ugly as you can”. Checks were made on how the Colors were used and which Colors were used and those avoided. What he noted was that some people scattered the Colored squares whereas others formed designs and patterns. He came to the conclusion that the former were Color dominated whereas the latter were form dominated. What Max Pfister and colleagues utilising The Color Pyramid Test noted was that preference for red revealed impulsive characteristics, whereas preference for orange indicated an ability to establish good interpersonal relationships. A strong preference for yellow indicated rationality rather than emotional and a strong preference for green showed either a person with strong imagination and self-control or the symptoms of psychological disturbance. Preference for blue indicates good rationality whilst preference for purple tends to indicate anxiety. A preference for white hints at schizophrenia. Both Pfister and Max Luscher established that normal people favour the primary Colors of red, yellow and blue whilst disturbed people seem drawn to green, purple, white, gray and brown.
The Luscher Color Test is concerned with finding and understanding the hidden depths of the human psyche through Color. In its original form the test used seventy-three Colors on seven panels. The shorter test using eight Colors was released in 1958 and is specifically devised for the use by psychiatrists, psychologists and physicians who are professionally involved with the unconscious and conscious motivations of people. The Luscher Color Test has been successful but Faber Birren disagreed with the interpretation of similar readings for people who dislike yellow but prefer other hues because in his experience he found that preferences and dislikes were not similar.
The research of Mesdames Alschuler and Hattwick who studied the Color preferences of children as revealed through art expression. Because most children respond spontaneously and don’t let their thoughts interfere too much with their feelings, their responses to Color are of considerable importance. These two ladies found that in their early years children were naturally drawn and more responsive to Color than form. Young children delight in Color for the sake of Color and will use it indiscriminately. However as emotional drive is tempered through behavioural conditioning the response to Color decreases. What Mesdames Alschuler and Hattwick noted was that those children who were more self-centred and introverted had a preference for cool Colors such as blue and green and always appeared very controlled. Those who chose the warm Colors of red, orange and yellow were free in their emotional behaviour. The children who used black, brown or gray in disproportionate amounts were found to be emotionally distressed.
Even today with the levels of psychiatry and psychology achieved – normal, neurotic and psychotic persons are not readily discernable and it is acknowledged that these states exist naturally within each of us and depending on our environment from birth will depend on which one of these aspects takes charge. No human being is rational all the time – we have all been a devil or angel on occasion. The people who are considered psychotic, eg: schizophrenics, actually see Color as an intrusion and for some it is so catastrophic that they draw away from Color and refuse to touch anything.
What the researchers using Color tests have established is that “normal” people naturally like Color. Those people who reject Color are often under a great deal of mental stress. A person, who reacts freely to Colors is likely to have a responsive personality and to be keenly interested in the world at large whereas a person with minimal response is likely to be self-absorbed signifying a withdrawal into oneself. David Katz, a psychologist, asked children to sort out a number of triangular, square and round forms in the Colors of red, yellow and blue which they promptly did on the basis of Color disregarding shape. It has been noted in studies of the effects of alcohol that the more inebriated a person becomes there is a greater response to Color. And if you ever wondered why pubs have such dim lighting – it is because it is has been shown that bright light reduces one’s desire for alcohol. In terms of artworks the more extroverted personalities are attracted to abstract surrealistic art forms whereas the inwardly orientated individuals require some semblance of realism if art forms are to appeal and make sense. Therefore, love of Color and the reaction to it is more basic than appreciation of form, shape or design.
Long before the advent of science as we know it, the people of yesteryear depicted enlightened beings with emanations of light and Color from their body in order to represent their divineness and believed in halos. Today this “halo” or “odic light” is now being photographed and used in the diagnosis of illness through the science of Valeodermy. The original mystics talked about the psychological state of a person through the Colors appearing in what is known in metaphysics as the auric field, or the human electromagnetic energy field. Some of the interpretations of Color within and around the body has shown to be similar regardless of country or culture, whereas in other instances different generations give different meanings to the Colors.
The symbolism of Color has been around since man began to become aware of his surroundings and has held Color with great regard and awe. To give an example, red is the one Color that is predominant in all cultures and is the most vital Color of the spectrum and therefore has the richest symbolism. It is a Color that has been assigned to virtue, sin, love, hatred, patriotism and anarchy … positive and negative qualities but all with an underlying fervour. Orange, yellow and gold were hues that were identified with the sun, the glory of god, the element of earth and qualities such as power, glory, strength and endurance. Green is the Color that is always associated with nature and life everlasting. It has been associated with qualities of immortality, learning, faith, youthfulness, hope, fertility and medicine. Blue is a Color, next to red, that is favoured by all cultures and represented the element of earth, air and water. It is said to have the qualities of harmony, truth, integrity as well as tribulation and defeat. Purple is a Color that was associated with richness, splendour, representative of the earth and has the qualities of dignity, suffering, endurance, courageous sacrifice. White is often associated with purity and oneness, the element of metal, water and related to the moon. It is said to have the qualities of purity, innocence, chastity, joy, and faith. Black is the Color associated with mystery, death and negation and the element of earth and water. It has the qualities of unknown, death and regeneration, grief and penitence, slaves and servants.
So on a general assumption what these early researchers have found is that people respond emotionally and psychologically to Color. Emotionally responsive persons react freely to Color whereas restricted and detached persons may be unaffected and inhibited persons may reject Color or hold back on Color. Interestingly the thousands of people who have done the Color tests world-wide it is interesting to note that virtually no-one will choose the neutrals of black, white or grey and if they do it is more often than not chosen when asked what Color they dislike. To which group do you think you belong?
B J Kouwer of Holland wrote in his book “Colors and Their Character” “Color perception is not an act involving only the retina and “consciousness” but the body as a totality.” People love to know more about themselves and the Colorful rainbow is a delightful universal place under which we can meet.
Bibliography
Color In Your World Faber Birren
Color & Human Response Faber Birren
The Luscher Test Max Luscher
The Symbolism of Color Ellen Conroy