Aesthetic response to color is an important aspect of human experience, but little is known about why people like some colors more than others. Previous research suggested explanations based on sensory physiology and color-emotions. In this chapter we propose an ecological valence theory based on the hypothesis that color preferences are caused by people’s average affective responses to color-associated objects. That is, people like colors that are strongly associated with objects they like (e.g. blues with clear skies and clean water) and dislike colors strongly associated with objects they dislike (e.g. browns with feces and rotten fruit). We report data that strongly support this claim: the ecological valence theory not only predicts average color preferences better than three alternative theories containing more free parameters, but it provides a plausible explanation of why color preferences exist and how they arise.
2024. Principles of Modern Artistic Design in Late Pleistocene Clovis Stone Biface Technology. Lithic Technology 49:2 ► pp. 113 ff.
Jiang, Ao & Stephen Westland
2024. Colour Preference. In Colour Futures [Vision, Illusion and Perception, 5], ► pp. 79 ff.
Özsavaş Uluçay, Nilay
2024. Determination of Color Preferences and Trend Colors in Hotel Room Interior Design. Journal of Architectural/Planning Research and Studies (JARS) 22:1 ► pp. 268719 ff.
Chen, Kaida, Hanliang Lin, Oliver F. Shyr & Shuying You
2023. What are the differences in urban citizens’ preferences for the colour of condominium building facades?. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 10:1
Luo, Shijian, Huan Lin, Yuqi Hu & Cong Fang
2022. Preliminary study on the aesthetic preference for taillight shape design. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 87 ► pp. 103240 ff.
Potočnik, Jaka, Mitja Košir & Mateja Dovjak
2022. Colour preference in relation to personal determinants and implications for indoor circadian luminous environment. Indoor and Built Environment 31:1 ► pp. 121 ff.
Smart, Stephen, Keke Wu & Danielle Albers Szafir
2020. Color Crafting: Automating the Construction of Designer Quality Color Ramps. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics 26:1 ► pp. 1215 ff.
Wells, Jeremy C., Simine Vazire & Daniel Levi
2020. Probing the Person-Patina Relationship: A Correlational Study on the Psychology of Senescent Environments. Collabra: Psychology 6:1
Braun, Doris I. & Katja Doerschner
2019. Kandinsky or Me? How Free Is the Eye of the Beholder in Abstract Art?. i-Perception 10:5
Matz, Sandra C., Cristina Segalin, David Stillwell, Sandrine R. Müller & Maarten W. Bos
2019. Predicting the Personal Appeal of Marketing Images Using Computational Methods. Journal of Consumer Psychology 29:3 ► pp. 370 ff.
E., Bankole Oladumiye & Ebenezer Odji
2018. Emotion and colour perception: A psychoanalytical theory of graphic design in consumer of goods. Journal of Fine and Studio Art 7:1 ► pp. 1 ff.
Soranzo, Alessandro, Daniela Petrelli, Luigina Ciolfi & John Reidy
2018. On the perceptual aesthetics of interactive objects. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 71:12 ► pp. 2586 ff.
Yokosawa, Kazuhiko, Karen B. Schloss, Michiko Asano & Stephen E. Palmer
2016. Ecological Effects in Cross‐Cultural Differences Between U.S. and Japanese Color Preferences. Cognitive Science 40:7 ► pp. 1590 ff.
Albertazzi, Liliana, Jan J. Koenderink & Andrea van Doorn
2015. Chromatic Dimensions Earthy, Watery, Airy, and Fiery. Perception 44:10 ► pp. 1153 ff.
Palmer, Stephen E. & Karen B. Schloss
2015. Color Preference. In Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology, ► pp. 1 ff.
Palmer, Stephen E. & Karen B. Schloss
2016. Color Preference. In Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology, ► pp. 354 ff.
Wang, Tingting, Siyun Shu & Lei Mo
2014. Blue or red? The effects of colour on the emotions of Chinese people. Asian Journal of Social Psychology 17:2 ► pp. 152 ff.
Zhang, Dan
2014. A Cross-Cultural Exploration of Children's Preferences of Package Design: The U.S. and China. Journal of International Consumer Marketing 26:5 ► pp. 391 ff.
Chen, Na, Kanji Tanaka, Daisuke Matsuyoshi & Katsumi Watanabe
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Palmer, Stephen E., Karen B. Schloss & Jonathan Sammartino
2013. Visual Aesthetics and Human Preference. Annual Review of Psychology 64:1 ► pp. 77 ff.
Schloss, Karen B., Eli D. Strauss & Stephen E. Palmer
2013. Object color preferences. Color Research & Application 38:6 ► pp. 393 ff.
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