The Psychological Perspective
The notion that colors affect people is also discussed in psychology. Psychologist Max Luscher, in Color Test: The Remarkable Test That Reveals Your Personality Through Color (1969) explains, “The autonomic nervous system… is concerned primarily with those functions which take place below the threshold of awareness and—for this very reason—must operate on an automatic, self-regulating basis…” Colors, apparently have a unconscious effect on this nervous system, for instance, pure-red “has a decidedly stimulating effect on the nervous system—blood pressure increases, respiration rate and heartbeat both speed up.” Luscher developed a system called Color Psychology in which he used an eight color test of dark-blue, blue-green, orange-red, bright yellow, violet, brown, black, and neutral grey, to determine personal stress level. He did this by placing eight color cards out in front of the person and recording the sequence each color was picked up in. He discovered that colors can have medicinal purposes. For instance, bright yellow colors can be used to avoid illness and blue light creates a calming effect.
Now let’s look at what the different colors are and their properties.