The DOI matches its Crossref record; 19 of the 19 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Meanings of Color
Abstract
(1962). The Meanings of Color. The Journal of General Psychology: Vol. 67, No. 1, pp. 89-99.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Moreover, bright and saturated colors are more stimulating and pleasurable than grayscales (e.g., Guilford & Smith, 1959; Valdez & Mehrabian, 1994; Wright & Rainwater, 1962).”
From Is life brighter when your phone is not? The efficacy of a grayscale smartphone intervention addressing digital well-being (2024) · cites this paper as Wright & Rainwater, 1962
Citations
Cites
Osgood, C. E., Suci, G. J., & Tannenbaum, P. H. (1957) · Cited by 9,433
A Course in Multivariate Analysis.
Bargmann, R. E., & Kendall, M. G. (1958) · Journal of the American Statistical Association · doi:10.2307/2282056 · Cited by 551
The degree to which colors (hues) are associated with mood-tones.
Wexner, L. B. (1954) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0062181 · Cited by 377
A Critical and Experimental Study of Colour Preferences
Eysenck, H. J. (1941) · The American Journal of Psychology · doi:10.2307/1417683 · Cited by 322
The affective value of color as a function of hue, tint, and chroma.
Guilford, J. P. (1934) · Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0071517 · Cited by 116
An Experimental Study of Colour Preferences
Granger, G. W. (1955) · The Journal of General Psychology · doi:10.1080/00221309.1955.9918340 · Cited by 112
Murray, D. C., & Deabler, H. L. (1957) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0041425 · Cited by 72
The Influence of Color upon Mental and Motor Efficiency
Pressey, S. L. (1921) · The American Journal of Psychology · doi:10.2307/1413999 · Cited by 68
An Investigation of Individual Responses to Chromatic Illumination
Lewinski, R. J. (1938) · The Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1080/00223980.1938.9917592 · Cited by 48
There is System in Color Preferences
Guilford, J. P. (1940) · Journal of the Optical Society of America · doi:10.1364/josa.30.000455 · Cited by 41
Research works printed but not linked: 5
- Cattell R. B., 1952, Factor Analysis
- Cohn J., 1894, Philos. Stud, 10, 562
- Collins N., 1924, The appropriateness of certain color combinations in advertising
- Jastrow J., 1897, Pop. Sci. Mon, 50, 361
- Minor A., 1909, Zsch. F. Psychol, 50, 433
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–168 of 168
Shape-to-color associations in non-synesthetes: perceptual, emotional, and cognitive aspects
Malfatti, M. (2014) · Unitn-eprints PhD (University of Trento) · doi:10.15168/11572_368608 · Cited by 7
Goudey, A., & Caporossi, A. (2014) · Gestion 2000 · doi:10.3917/g2000.304.0107 · Cited by 6
Colour Preference: A New Approach
Zöld, B., Toth, T. I., & Tolna, J. (1986) · Perceptual and Motor Skills · doi:10.2466/pms.1986.62.3.739 · Cited by 6
Zheng, L., & Xu, L. (2025) · Color Research & Application · doi:10.1002/col.22978 · Cited by 5
Exploring the cultural influence on tourists’ color perceptions: A study of tourist photography
Lee, A., Lee, C.-H., & Lee, D. B. (2025) · Tourism Management · doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2025.105183 · Cited by 6
Bibliometric analyses of factors influencing color preferences in urban environmental spaces
Qu, C., Dong, J., & Wang, W. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1588644 · Cited by 5
“Individual factors significantly influence urban color preferences, particularly in terms of emotional, psychological, and personal experiences (Wright and Rainwater, 1962; Elliot et al., 2016).”
Du, J., Chen, X., Li, X., Pan, Y., Fu, E., Huang, Y., Zhu, C., Jiang, M., Hassan, A., Wu, D., et al. (2022) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.955393 · Cited by 5
The Analysis of Emotion Adjective for LED Light Colors by using Kobayashi scale and I.R.I scale
Baek, C.-H., Park, S.-O., & Kim, H.-S. (2011) · Journal of the Korean Institute of Illuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers · doi:10.5207/jieie.2011.25.10.001 · Cited by 5
“초기 색채감성연구[1-6]의 주된 목적은 감성요소 를추출하여정량적인수치로측량할수있는감성척 도를 개발하는 것이었다.”
Senescent Effects on Color Perception and Emotion
Han, J., Kim, B. G., Choi, I., & Park, S.-B. (2016) · Architectural research · doi:10.5659/aikar.2016.18.3.83 · Cited by 5
“This has been referred to as color meaning (Wright and Rainwater, 1962; Taft, 1997), color image (Kobayashi, 1981), and color emotion (Ou et al., 2004, 2012).”
BackgroundWang, Z., Nagai, Y., Kim, E., Zou, N., Hou, J., Liu, X., & Zhu, D. (2020) · International Conference on Computer Engineering and Application (ICCEA) · doi:10.1109/iccea50009.2020.00134 · Cited by 5
A new color image space HRU related to the CIEL*a*b* color space
Kuo, W. (2009) · Color Research & Application · doi:10.1002/col.20540 · Cited by 5
The Doll Technique and Racial Attitudes
Greene, P. J. (1980) · The Pacific Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/1388736 · Cited by 5
Bertenthal, A. (2022) · The British Journal of Criminology · doi:10.1093/bjc/azac027 · Cited by 4
Korzh, N. N., & Сафуанова, О. В. (1993) · Journal of Russian and East European Psychology · doi:10.2753/rpo1061-0405310422 · Cited by 4
The Research on Quantificational Method of Chromatic-Light Emotion in Automotive Interior Lighting
Lu, J., & Fu, J. (2019) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-23541-3_3 · Cited by 4
Analysis of visual impression based on Bra's basic components
Wen, X., Zhang, J., Whang, M., & Liu, K. (2021) · International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology · doi:10.1108/ijcst-01-2021-0002 · Cited by 4
Cognitive Theme Preserving Color Transfer for Fabric Design
Zheng, D., Baciu, G., Han, Y. D., & Hu, J. (2012) · International Journal of Software Science and Computational Intelligence · doi:10.4018/jssci.2012070103 · Cited by 3
Durão, M. J. (2002) · AIAA Space Architecture Symposium · doi:10.2514/6.2002-6107 · Cited by 3
Three Layers of Pragmatic Failure Across Languages and Cultures
Yusifova, P. (2018) · International Journal of English Linguistics · doi:10.5539/ijel.v8n6p256 · Cited by 3
Painting-Emotion Matching Technology Learning System through Repetition
Lee, T., & Seo, S. (2019) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su11164507 · Cited by 3
PRINZ, J. J. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-19601-1_38 · Cited by 3
Ju, J., Hong, S. J., Xu, K., Ting, X., & yan, J. (2021) · Journal of Physics Conference Series · doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1754/1/012221 · Cited by 3
Construing colours using repertory grid technique: An idiographic approach in colour perception
Akbay, S., & Börekçi, N. A. G. Z. (2021) · Color Research & Application · doi:10.1002/col.22722 · Cited by 3
Huang, S., Scurati, G. W., Etzi, R., Gallace, A., Tagliabue, L. C., Graziosi, S., Ferrise, F., & Bordegoni, M. (2019) · Virtual Community of Pathological Anatomy (University of Castilla La Mancha) · Cited by 3
Discovering Color Semantics as a Chance for Developing Cross-Cultural Design Frameworks
Choi, G. S., Oehlmann, R., Dalke, H., & Cottington, D. (2007) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-540-74827-4_116 · Cited by 3
Bipolar Scales with Pictorial Anchors: Some Characteristics and a Method for their Use
Beard, A. D. (1979) · Applied Psychological Measurement · doi:10.1177/014662167900300405 · Cited by 3
Colors $-$Messengers of Concepts: Visual Design Mining for Learning Color SemanticsPreprint
Jahanian, A., Vishwanathan, S. V. N., & Allebach, J. P. (2015) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1505.06532 · Cited by 3
“Another similar attempt is due to Wright and Rain-water [Wright and Rainwater 1962], yet with a more visual communication language perspective in color meanings and connotations.”
BackgroundWhat Teachers Wear: Working the Wardrobe across 15 Years
Katić, E. K. (2025) · Signs and Society · doi:10.1017/sas.2025.3 · Cited by 2
Toure, M., Tomc, H. G., & Možina, K. (2024) · Applied Sciences · doi:10.3390/app142411716 · Cited by 2
An Emotion-based Image Color Modification System
Kang, D., & Yoon, K. (2017) · IASTED International Conference on Modelling, Identification and Control (MIC) · doi:10.2316/p.2017.848-056 · Cited by 2
“Consequently, image evoke certain emotions [1, 2].”
Evaluation of Franz Marc’s Color Theory using Implicit Testing Procedures
Grotjohann, A., & Oberfeld, D. (2018) · Art & Perception · doi:10.1163/22134913-00002101 · Cited by 2
Langner, T., Esch, F., & Kühn, J. (2009) · Gabler eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-8349-8078-6_15 · Cited by 2
Chapter 5 Leveraging Emotions in Value Management of Brands and Products
Harrington, L. (2007) · Research on emotion in organizations · doi:10.1016/s1746-9791(07)03005-2 · Cited by 2
La couleur, variable d'action marketing
Kacha, M. (2009) · doi:10.70675/c7377aeez1fedz4916za44azf283ab4c6d9d · Cited by 2
Independent Subspace Analysis to Rotate Multidimensional Space for Visualization of Color Symbolism
Hanada, M. (2024) · IEEE Access · doi:10.1109/access.2024.3432806 · Cited by 1
“Colors have also been evaluated by the semantic differential (SD) technique, which was developed by Osgood [21], or by similar methods [21], [22], [23], [24], [25], [26], [27], [28].”
MethodAffective Color Scales for Colormap Data Visualizations
Braun, H. C., Mukherjee, K., Gorelik, S. R., & Schloss, K. B. (2025) · IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics · doi:10.1109/tvcg.2025.3634775 · Cited by 1
“For example, positive colors are light and high in chroma, negative colors are dark and low in chroma, and calm or less angry colors are light and low in chroma [6,15,16,26,68,84].”
InfluentialPrado-León, L. R., Schloss, K. B., & Palmer, S. E. (2014) · John Benjamins Publishing Company eBooks · doi:10.1075/z.191.24pra · Cited by 1
Colour Preference for Two-Colour Combinations
Stanikūnas, R., Puišys, L., Radzevičienė, A., & Vaitkevičius, H. (2020) · Psichologija · doi:10.15388/psichol.2020.12 · Cited by 1
Operatives Dienstleistungsmarketing
Bruhn, M., Meffert, H., & Hadwich, K. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-17233-6_6 · Cited by 1
Barile, S., Bassano, C., Vito, P., Alizada, A., Cavaliere, R., & Barile, P. (2022) · IEEE International Conference on Metrology for eXtended Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Neural Engineering (MetroXRAINE) · doi:10.1109/metroxraine54828.2022.9967490 · Cited by 1
Bedeutung der Produktverpackung für die Marketingkommunikation
Langner, T., Esch, F., & Kühn, J. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-04655-2_6 · Cited by 2
Langner, T., & Esch, F. (2018) · Springer Reference Wirtschaft · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-13361-0_30-1 · Cited by 1
Bedeutung der Produktverpackung für die Marketingkommunikation
Langner, T., Esch, F., & Kühn, J. (2014) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-05261-4_6-1 · Cited by 1
Colour preference and colour emotion
Ou, L., & Luo, M. R. (2003) · CRC Press eBooks · doi:10.1201/9780203608173-c34 · Cited by 1
Spelen met emoties: hoe beïnvloeden kleuren en patronen de beleving van emoties en empathie?
Buijs, L. (2013) · Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University)
A quantitative study on color emotions for double chromatic light in landscape illumination
Ma, J., Xiao, J., Niu, S., & Liu, G. (2010) · International Conference on Mechanic Automation and Control Engineering · doi:10.1109/mace.2010.5536233
To a Procedure of Studying of a Topic: "The Influence of Abiotic Factors on the Living Organisms"
Кузьмина, Г. В., & Абжалелов, Б. Б. (2013)
Color Appearance and Color Connotation for Unrelated Colors
Koo, B. (2013) · Scholarworks@UNIST (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology)
An investigation of the Luscher colour test
Melhuish, P. W. (2011) · cIRcle (University of British Columbia) · doi:10.14288/1.0101351
Jahanian, A. (2016) · Springer theses · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-31486-0_3
The effect of light color when coloring menu for in-vehicle considering drivers’ emotional states
Ahn, S. H., Kim, W., & Yoon, M. H. (2012) · 대한인간공학회 학술대회논문집
A blue Monday? Try walking on a yellow path
Mirri, S., Roccetti, M., Salomoni, P., & Prandi, C. (2017) · IEEE Symposium on Computers and Communications (ISCC) · doi:10.1109/iscc.2017.8024495
“Thus, walking to your workplace in a depressing Monday morning could give you a chance of being surrounded by urban elements with a prominence of yellow, which expresses joyful and optimism and it is generally associated to sunlight in several cultures [5, 6].”
BackgroundCross-modal associations involving colour and touch
Jraissati, Y., & Wright, O. (2018) · John Benjamins Publishing Company eBooks · doi:10.1075/z.217.08jra
Tashkinova, V. A. (2019) · Philology Theory & Practice · doi:10.30853/filnauki.2019.6.85
Stamps, A. E. (2000) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-6326-3_8
(1978) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-472960-5.50014-7
(1965) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-1-4832-2930-0.50014-2
Robbins, T., & Thompkins, T. (2023) · Journal of Student Research · doi:10.47611/jsrhs.v12i4.4831
A Cinematographic Approach on The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Yilmaz, A. (2024) · Advances in media, entertainment and the arts (AMEA) book series · doi:10.4018/979-8-3693-1958-1.ch001
Nussinson, R., Ram, H., Simchon, A., Hatzek, A., Navon, M., Dali, A., Shechter, A., Mentser, S., & Liberman, N. (2025) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2025.104759
Analyse sémiologique des personnages dans les récits graphiques
Sähn, T. (2020) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/ce1a2422zb654z4112zbef6z281ec4218e96
Dominance of Audio Features in Audience Emotion: A Multimodal EEG Analysis of Music Videos
Wang, J., Liu, Y., & Song, Y. (2026) · Empirical Studies of the Arts · doi:10.1177/02762374261426246 · Cited by 2
Park, S. J., Park, S. J., Kim, J., Kho, J., Kim, J., Kim, J., Lee, S., Lee, S., Lee, J., Lee, J., et al. (2026) · Archives of Design Research · doi:10.15187/adr.2026.08.39.3.243
Metadata
- Authors
- Wright, B., & Rainwater, L.
- Affiliations
- University of Chicago (US)
- ORCID
- Wright, Benjamin
- Venue
- The Journal of General Psychology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 1962-07
- Volume
- 67
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 89-99
- ISSN
- 0022-1309 (ISSN-L)
- 1940-0888
- OpenAlex
- W2125208217
- Cited by
- 168
- References
- 19
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 2.17
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Journal of General Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Categorization, perception, and language
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Color perception and design
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Color Science and Applications
- Keywords
- color perception, meanings of colour, color symbolism, color psychology
- MeSH terms
- Color
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review