Color Psychology: Understanding How Color Choices Affects Our Behavior

Colors affect everything from appetite to productivity, and the five most popular colors have specific psychological meanings.

• Colors send messages without being overt • Colors can inform and change your mood • Colors influence productivity and behavior

Understanding what different colors mean helps you make better choices in clothing and home design.

Vanessa van Edwards, a behavioral investigator, explains the psychology behind the five most popular colors.

• Red is the color of passion • Red can also represent aggression • Red is attention-grabbing

Red stimulates appetite and digestion, which is why many restaurants use red in their design.

Red is a great color for women to wear on a first date, following the tradition of the little red dress.

Red walls in dining rooms stimulate eating, so if you're trying to lose weight, red plates or red walls may not be helpful.

• Gray is a very neutral color • Gray is passive and low-energy • Gray helps focus attention on what is being said rather than on appearance

Gray is an excellent color for lawyers and professionals discussing serious topics because it's less attention-grabbing.

Painting walls gray can give a passive, low-energy feeling to a space and should not be used in abundance.

Gray should be paired with other colors to pop it out and change the mood, with blue and purple being perfect complementary colors.

• Blue is the color of the sky and ocean • The sky is loyal, dependable, honest, trustworthy, and wise • These associations transfer to the color blue itself

Wearing blue shows that you're an expert, calm, know what you're doing, and are loyal and dependable.

Studies show workers in all-blue offices made 20 percent less errors than those in all-white offices, making blue excellent for productivity.

Blue is a great color for men to wear on a first date, contrasting with red being ideal for women.

• Purple is the color of luxury • Purple is the color of royalty • Kings and queens wear purple

Purple doesn't appear much in nature, and historically it was hard to make purple dye, making it special and unique.

Purple pairs perfectly with gray to create an elegant outfit, as the neutral gray balances the boldness of purple.

• Purple is excellent for gift wrapping to make gifts seem more expensive and luxurious • Avoid painting large areas bright purple as it can look artificial • Pale versions like lavender offer the same emotional response but toned down

• Orange represents success • Orange represents high energy • Orange is a popular and vibrant color

Sports teams with orange and black uniforms use orange because it conveys success and high energy.

Orange is a great color to wear to the gym because it reinforces a successful, high-energy mindset.

Colors can help support your behavior and mood, though they don't necessarily dictate it.