Color and Emotions: Exploring How Middle-Aged Adults Associate Color and Emotion
Graduation Date
Fall 2012
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Document Form
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy
Degree Granting Institution
Notre Dame de Namur University
Program Name
Art Therapy
Dean
John Lemmon, PhD
First Reader
Amy Backos, PhD, ATR-BC
Second Reader
Ellen McCabe-Wackewitz, MFT, ATR-BC
Abstract
This paper explores how middle-aged adults assign color to emotions. Existing research based on the Luscher Color Test and qualitative art therapy cases do not cover the middle-aged demographic. Studies suggest that there are natural biases for color association to letters, and that color evokes emotion. Present research lacks information from culturally diverse communities such as the Silicon Valley. Color theory proposes that the colors people associate with emotion evolve overtime, hence the need to include four previously excluded colors in the current survey. The researcher utilized an online survey to collect information from middle-aged adults and how they associate color to emotion. Birth month, marital status, employment, education level, age and ethnicity have a significant impact on how the adults in this survey associate color and emotion. Information from the study may help professionals address stress reduction with the increasing middle-aged demographic, assisting in preventative health measures.