Awards Earned: 1st Place, 7th Life Science, PCA Science Fair

Do people have the same emotional association to color?

When people are exposed to various colors (red, yellow, green, blue, and orange) they will experience the same emotional associations. These will include, but are not limited to, happy, sad, peaceful, angry, annoyed, stressful, etc.

When people are exposed to various colors of light: red, yellow, green, blue, and orange.

Nine members of my seventh grade class
White board
Projector
Different colors of tissue paper
Sheets on which to record data.
Pulse monitor
Cardboard

1] Gather materials.
2] Based on research, five emotional associations are selected for each color as likely associations the subjects will experience when viewing that color. For example, the emotional associations selected for red are love, danger, anger, speed and violence. The emotional associations selected for orange are warmth, vibrancy, energy, enthusiasm and flamboyant. These choices are written on a questionnaire. Each subject will select the emotional association they experience when viewing the color.
3] Assemble tissue paper into a cardboard frame.
4] Purchase pulse monitor.
5] Invite subjects to participate and distribute participation permission slips.
6] Seat subject in front of white board.
7] Shine light on white board.
8] Place a color tissue paper in front of projector for 30 seconds.
9] Measure subject's pulse rate while viewing the color.
10] Have subject record on the questionnaire which emotion they associate with the color.
11] Repeat steps 8-10 for each color tissue paper.
12] Repeat steps 6-11 for each subject.
13] Compare responses and pulse rates for all subjects.

The most consistent response was for the color green. Almost all the subjects selected nature as the emotional association for green. Orange and blue has the second most consistent responses with almost all subjects selecting two emotional associations for each. The results were less consistent with the other colors.

The hypothesis that when people are exposed to various colors they experience the same emotional associations to those colors is false. However, some subjects had similar responses in each color category. Heart rates varied also, with male subject's rates being higher than female's, but not related to change in color.

I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man", dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash round his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. Revelation 1: 12-14, 16b

In Revelation John uses color and light to describe his vision of Jesus. Our experience of color and light on earth is just a glimpse of what we'll see in heaven.

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