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Universal Patterns in Color-Emotion Associations Are Further Shaped by Linguistic and Geographic Proximity
University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
University of Lausanne, Switzerland; .
Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany.
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2020 (English)In: Psychological Science, ISSN 0956-7976, E-ISSN 1467-9280, Vol. 31, no 10, p. 1245-1260Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Many of us “see red,” “feel blue,” or “turn green with envy.” Are such color-emotion associations fundamental to our shared cognitive architecture, or are they cultural creations learned through our languages and traditions? To answer these questions, we tested emotional associations of colors in 4,598 participants from 30 nations speaking 22 native languages. Participants associated 20 emotion concepts with 12 color terms. Pattern-similarity analyses revealed universal color-emotion associations (average similarity coefficient r =.88). However, local differences were also apparent. A machine-learning algorithm revealed that nation predicted color-emotion associations above and beyond those observed universally. Similarity was greater when nations were linguistically or geographically close. This study highlights robust universal color-emotion associations, further modulated by linguistic and geographic factors. These results pose further theoretical and empirical questions about the affective properties of color and may inform practice in applied domains, such as well-being and design. © The Author(s) 2020.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
SAGE Publications Inc. , 2020. Vol. 31, no 10, p. 1245-1260
Keywords [en]
affect, color perception, cross-cultural, cultural relativity, open data, open materials, pattern analysis, universality, adult, algorithm, article, color vision, demography, female, human, human experiment, language, machine learning, major clinical study, male, speech, theoretical study, wellbeing
National Category
Natural Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-51360DOI: 10.1177/0956797620948810Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85090789697OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-51360DiVA, id: diva2:1516746
Note

Funding text 1: For their help with the translation of the International Color-Emotion Survey into their respective languages, we thank Agnieszka Gawda (Polish), Aurika Jonauskien? (Lithuanian), Afrodite Kapsaridi (Greek), Bruno Kemm (Spanish and Portuguese), Richard Klein (French), Riina Martinson (Estonian), Galina Paramei (Russian), Angeliki Theodoridou (Greek), Evelina Thunell (Swedish), Alessandro Tremea (Italian), and Yaffa Yeshurun (Hebrew). For their help in distributing and promoting the survey in their countries, we thank Sanne Brederoo (The Netherlands), Cornelis B. Doorenbos (The Netherlands), Tinatin Gamkrelidze (Georgia), Lise Lesaffre (France), Arzu Memmedova (Azerbaijan), Mariam Okruashvili (Georgia), C. Alejandro P?rraga (Spain), Vilde Johanna Solheim Lie (Norway), Halvor Stavland (Norway), Hedda Andrea Struksn?s S?rdal (Norway), and Zumrud Sultanova (Azerbaijan).

Available from: 2021-01-12 Created: 2021-01-12 Last updated: 2023-05-10Bibliographically approved

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