Colour psychology: Caveat emptor

My peer-reviewed paper, Colour Psychology and Colour Therapy: Caveat Emptor was published in June 2011 in the leading journal on colour: Color Research and Application.

When I published the paper, I had no idea that within a few months it would top the ‘Most Accessed’ list for the journal. It has remained at the top of this list from 2013 onwards.

Caveat emptor is Latin for ‘buyer beware’. This applies to may colour psychology claims as well as claims about colour therapy.  The paper advises against accepting claims about colour psychology and colour therapy without critically analyzing these. Many claims are put forward without due evidence but are presented as ‘scientific fact’. The paper details the many reasons why it is unwise to believe claims about colour psychology and colour therapy. Not least among these is the fallacy of the single cause. This fallacy is particularly relevant because the interface between colour and human response is a highly complex interface.

Colour psychology and colour therapy: Caveat emptor can be found in the journal Color Research and Application, 36 (3), pp229-234.

Further details about the paper can be found on my profile page at Academia.edu.

Alternatively, you can access the paper through the journal Color Research and Application.

The image used in this post is the Lewin residence, Atlanta by Dencity Architects. You can find out more about this house on Architizer here.