Color Attitudes of Art Students and University Students: I. Imagined Colors

Abstract

The color attitudes of 182 art students and 156 university students were tested. S's task was first to imagine colors and then to rank them on a seven-point rating scale. The results show that for art students only blue and red are “pleasant,” while gray and pink are “unpleasant” colors. Black and white count as “neutral.” The distributions of all other colors listed by Ss are not statistically different from chance. In comparison, university students show the same preference for blue and red as “pleasant” colors, but they prefer a third color, orange. Not only gray and pink are regarded as “unpleasant,” but also black and violet. White and beige are “neutral” colors. The only sex differences found were for violet in the art students group and for orange in the university students group. The drawbacks of the applied procedure, asking Ss to imagine colors, are discussed.