Research Areas

Fundamental research

Our experiments are tailored to answer basic questions in colour psychology. We test, for example, how colours are linked to emotions, moods, feelings; which colours are liked and disliked, and why; how these relationships differ between people (e.g. sex, age, culture) and across time. This type of research provides the necessary benchmark knowledge to perform studies in the field.

Our environment

We are naturally surrounded by many colours and pro-actively add colour to our environment (e.g. design, textile, paint, architecture). Many people also think that colour influences how we think, feel, and perform. Whether and how the colour of our environment impacts us psychologically or affectively needs to be proven scientifically. We test the influence of environmental colours on cognitive-affective functioning.

ART

Colour is a major feature of the visual and living arts, design and architecture. Colours might fulfil aesthetic needs and also convey states of mind, moods, intentions, etc. We investigate the psychological and affective correlates of colour preferences and colour meanings in these domains by taking the perceiver and the creator into consideration.

HEALTH & hr management

Colour-based therapy, diagnoses, and person profiling is used by various professions and organizations. So far, there is little scientific justification for such claimed colour-based effects (apart from light therapy). Currently, we use experiments to examine colours’ impact on mood, psychological functioning, and management of stress. These experiments are informative to person profiling.

Technology & Education

Technology can shape the way people perceive and engage with the world. It can enhance perceptual abilities, and affect attention, memory, preferences, and so on. Here, we investigate to what extent technology is advantageous to colour consumers and advances knowledge in colour psychology. We use cutting-edge visualization techniques and Internet-based data assessment to test how people interact with colour. We also use these technologies for education purposes.

culture & society

The significance of colours on our behaviour is sometimes thought to be biologically inherited and universal (e.g. red indicates fertility and aggression). Others stress that the significance of colours is culturally shaped (e.g. by language). We compare findings in colour psychology between countries across the world to learn about similarities and differences.