Beyond Aesthetics: How Color Reflects and Shapes Emotion
- Sujeong Han
- Dec 5
- 3 min read
Today, psychotherapy and psychiatric therapy using art are actively being developed, so color cannot be left out when talking about art psychotherapy. In art psychotherapy, the colors used in paintings have great significance and have a lot of influence. Just as we usually feel different things when we look at each color, the meaning of each color and how it works are very diverse. Today, we will look at how the three primary colors of light are reflected in art psychotherapy and what emotions form.
The first color to recognize is red. I think most people think that red represents a negative emotion like anger. Surprisingly, however, red is involved in both positive and negative emotions in psychology. Red is the color that evokes the strongest emotions in color psychology, and it simultaneously symbolizes conflicting emotions such as love, anger, passion, and desire. It is very visible visually due to its long wavelength, and is often used to signal danger, such as stop signals and warning signs. Red also increases blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, and triggers physical awakening, such as boosting metabolism. Some studies show that athletes wearing red are actually more aggressive or have a higher probability of winning, as they are culturally associated with concepts such as anger, strength, and domination because of these intense characteristics. At the same time, red is also used as a symbol of love and desire, making people look more attractive, or function as a symbol of power and attention.
The next color to recognize is green. Green is a color that gives people feelings of calm, stability, and recovery, and is closely related to nature. Green makes people feel comfortable in new environments, and actual studies have also confirmed that exposure to the green environment has a 'green exercise effect' that reduces stress and improves their mood. In addition, spending time in a space surrounded by forests or plants can lower blood pressure and improve concentration and impulse control, which has a positive effect on psychological and physical health. Evolutionarily, green also means food, water, and shelter necessary for survival, so it has established itself in the human brain as a sign of stability and life. For this reason, green symbolizes healing, growth, hope, creativity, and optimism, inducing people to have a positive and energetic emotional state. On the other hand, however, it also expresses envy, greed, and pathological emotions like the 'green of envy', and changes in various meanings from calm to jealousy or corruption depending on the color tone. Therefore, green is often used as a color to restore emotional balance and find inner stability in art psychology and design.
The last color to look at is blue. Blue is the favorite color of many people around the world, symbolizing tranquility, stability, trust, order, and safety, and inducing a calm and harmonious emotional state. At the same time, blue can also be linked to sadness or callousness, and it can also express loneliness or loneliness, just like the painting from the Blue Period. Physiologically, it has the effect of lowering the heart rate and body temperature to relieve tension and help people relax, and studies have shown that people can focus and act more creatively in a blue environment. The meaning varies depending on the cultural background, but it symbolizes truth and mercy in India, mourning and tranquility in Latin America, and trust and responsibility in North America and Europe. In art psychotherapy, blue is used to help clients explore and express their emotional stability, self-regulation, inner reflection, and peace of mind. Bright and vibrant blue can be interpreted as a signal of positive energy and hope, and dark and deep blue can be interpreted as a signal of introverted reflection or depression.
What do you think about the meaning of the three primary colors of light and their role in psychology? As the hidden psychological effects of red, green, and blue light are revealed, it can be confirmed once again that colors are not just seen but felt.
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