Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by Rylee. Rylee Wonders, “Do colors affect your emotions?” Thanks for WONDERing with us, Rylee!

Have you ever seen red? Or felt blue? Has someone ever accused you of being green with envy? Why are these colors associated with emotions? Let’s find out more today in Wonderopolis!

People have known for centuries that colors can affect emotions. Early artists may have simply tried to recreate the hues in the scenes in front of them. However, it wasn’t long before people were making art entirely from their own imaginations. Artists have long used unique colors to make their works pleasing to both the eye and the heart.

Perhaps you’ve noticed that certain colors seem to speak to you. For example, does red capture your attention? The makers of stop signs sure hope it does!

Or what about yellow? Do certain shades of yellow make you take notice? The people who created school bus yellow believe that particular shade makes school buses more noticeable and thus safer.

Today, psychologists have studied colors and their effects on human emotions. Many studies have shown a connection between the two. For example, can you guess what hue evokes feelings like peace, hope, and happiness? It’s green! Why? Experts aren’t sure. Some believe it could be connected to how often the color green is found in nature.

What emotions are other colors associated with? Yellow tends to elicit happiness and excitement. Could it be because the color yellow makes us think of the Sun and summer? Maybe!

Have you ever heard someone say they feel blue? They probably meant they were down in the dumps. But the color blue is often connected to calm and relaxation. Perhaps this is due to the color blue in the ocean or the sky.

Gray may lead to feelings of sadness and boredom. Any guesses as to why? Researchers believe it could be because the color gray is associated with clouds and bad weather.

Other colors might evoke a mixture of emotions. It can be different for each person. Take red, for example. For some, the color red is associated with love and romance. For others, though, it might bring about thoughts of blood and anger.

One thing scientists can agree upon is that reaction to colors is a highly personal experience. Your experience will likely be different from anyone else’s. That’s because your reactions depend on your preferences and your past experiences.

For example, maybe your favorite color is purple. It could be that your favorite sports teams all wear that color. In this case, you probably would have a positive reaction to purple. In the same way, you might have a negative reaction to green. Maybe you don’t like green and have had bad experiences with green things in the past.

Do you have a favorite color? Have you paid any attention to how different hues affect your feelings? If not, try to do so in the future. You may just find that colors affect your emotions more than you realize!

Standards: CCRA.L.3, CCRA.L.6, CCRA.R.1, CCRA.R.2, CCRA.R.4, CCRA.R.10, CCRA.SL.1

Wonder What's Next?

And they’re off! Tomorrow’s Wonder of the Day will have you racing to the finish line.