YELLOW COLOR: MEANING AND PSYCHOLOGY - PSYCHOLOGY - 2024

The color yellow has a meaning and psychology related to vitality, heat, energy, light and creativity. It is often described as an optimistic, life-affirming color that reminds us of sunlight, and stimulates our mind, body, and emotions.

The effect of yellow color varies with intensity and hue. A pale, atmospheric shade of yellow can add cheer to the environment, while a saturated or intense one can make us grumpy after a while.

Yellow is the color between green and orange in the spectrum of visible light. It is evoked by light with a predominant wavelength of approximately 570-590 nm.

Positive meanings of the color yellow

-Yellow elevates our spirits. A person surrounded by yellow is more optimistic because the brain releases more serotonin (the pleasure chemical in the brain).

-In our relationships it brings us good humor and joy. It also generates a climate of trust and communication in our environment.

-At work it is useful for creativity, the generation of new ideas, as well as to be in motion and in constant action.

-In studies it stimulates our mental faculties, activating the left side of the brain. Therefore, this color helps us focus and remember information, which is very useful during exam time.

-Using yellow in clothing or in cars helps us avoid accidents, as it is the most visible of all colors and the one that most impacts the human eye.

Negative meanings of the color yellow

-Because it is a color that inspires speed and dynamism, it can also lead us to make impulsive decisions.

-Although yellow is a cheerful color, studies show that in large quantities it tends to create feelings of frustration and anger, which is why people are more likely to lose their temper in a yellow interior. Babies also seem to cry more in rooms with yellow walls.

-Because it is more related to the left part of the brain, it is a color that tends to disconnect from the emotional aspects provided by the right side of the brain.

Psychology and fun facts about yellow

-If you are going through many changes in your life that cause you stress, you may not be able to tolerate yellow very well as it is too fast a color for you right now.

-The researcher David H. Alman showed in a study that day and night the response of the eye to yellow is strong, which allows faster reaction of people. So many cities have started painting their fire trucks yellow.

-McDonalds, Wendy, and Burger King added yellow in their logos and on the exterior of their stores because this color conveys energy and speed, which communicates to the consumer that they are fast and efficient.

-There is a “yellow dress day” in Oxford that began in 2011 as an awareness day. It was sponsored by the “Bicycle Ride Mississippi”, a non-profit organization promoting the bicycle throughout the state.

-In a study carried out by the University of Georgia in 2004, the most easily remembered card was the yellow one.

Meanings of yellow in other cultures

Colors have different meanings in different places.

• In Japan, yellow means courage and nobility.
• In Islam yellow means wisdom.
• In Hinduism, the divinity of Krishna is commonly portrayed in yellow. Yellow and saffron are also the colors used by sadhu, or by holy men roaming India.
• Buddhist monks wear saffron yellow robes, which were chosen by the Buddha for himself and his followers in the 5th century BC. The tunic and its color is a sign of renunciation of the outside world and a commitment to order.
• In Ancient Greece, some gods were depicted with yellow hair, and men bleached their hair or the hours spent in the sun to turn it yellow. However, in medieval Europe and later, yellow often had negative connotations; so the yellow hair was more poetically called 'blonde', 'light', 'or' golden '.
• In many countries in the Middle East, yellow represents prosperity.
• In Egypt yellow is reserved for mourning.
• In India it is a color frequently used by merchants.
• For Native Americans, yellow is the symbol for unconditional love
• In China they have given a predominance to the yellow color not seen in other parts of the world. It was the color of the emperors both during the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty.
• In many European universities, the members of the faculty of physical sciences wear yellow dresses, because yellow represents reason and research.

Curious stories about the psychology of color

• At the University of Iowa in the United States, they painted the visiting team locker rooms a soft pink: the closets a dusty pink, the showers with pink curtains and even the urinals they chose pink. The color was chosen by former soccer coach Hayden Fry, who had read that pink has a calming effect on people. However, the gesture was not very well received by the visitors, who saw it as a joke because it was a color classified as feminine, and it caused the opposite effect - agitation.
• One bank found that its lines moved faster as the use of the color red increased in its lobby, and in a study of several hundred college students, a researcher found that they respond more quickly to red light signals than green light..
• Kuller in 1976, conducted a study on the effects of color on men and women in two opposite environments. He asked six men and six women to stay in two rooms, one was very colorful, while the other was gray and sterile. The results showed that heart rates were faster in the gray room than in the colorful room, but also that men had more anxious reactions than women, not being able to achieve the same degree of mental relaxation.
• Reporter Jeannie Mai says that when she worked for the Extra show, she sometimes had to meet celebrities known for being "distant", so she used a soft yellow color in her clothes and it always ended up being one of her best encounters. "The color yellow creates a very open environment with people," he confessed.