Logo image
Back
The effect of perceptual, conceptual, spatial, and sociocultural context on colour-emotion associations
Thesis   Open access

The effect of perceptual, conceptual, spatial, and sociocultural context on colour-emotion associations

Declan Forrester
Southern Cross University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Southern Cross University
2025
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25918/thesis.564
Appears in  Recent Southern Cross PhD Theses
pdf
Forrester D PhD 20255.74 MBDownloadView
Open Access

Metrics

1 Record Views

Abstract

Colour Emotion Colour-emotion associations Cognitive psychology Affect Experimental psychology Colour science
This thesis investigates how perceptual, conceptual, spatial, and sociocultural contextual variables influence colour-emotion associations, challenging assumptions that such associations are fixed or universal. Drawing on colour-in-context theory, which posits that colour meaning is shaped by situational context, and ecological valence theory, which links colour preferences to affective experiences, the research explores how these contextual factors shape emotion associations with colour. Across four experimental studies, a consistent categorisation task was used to examine how colour affects the perception and categorisation of emotion-related stimuli — including words, emojis, and facial expressions — when colour is presented as a task-irrelevant feature. Study 1 compared perceptual (colour patches) and conceptual (colour words) formats, finding that both formats activate emotion associations, although perceptual colour elicited stronger effects. Study 2 examined spatial positioning, revealing that facial colour exerted the strongest influence on emotion categorisation, followed by background and shirt colour. Study 3 investigated digital emotion stimuli (emojis), showing that background colour biases emotional interpretation, particularly when emoji expressions are ambiguous. Study 4 explored sociocultural context, demonstrating that team affiliation modulates valence associations with in-group and out-group colours. Collectively, the findings demonstrate that colour-emotion associations are context-sensitive, shaped by presentation format, spatial positioning, and the perceiver’s conceptual knowledge, sociocultural context, and social identity. The thesis refines colour-in-context theory by identifying emotion stimulus type, contextual ambiguity, colour presentation format, spatial positioning, and perceiver social identity as distinct contextual factors. It also outlines a replicable methodological framework for studying implicit colour-emotion associations. These findings provide a foundation for future theoretical development in colour-emotion psychology and offer practical implications for emotion research, digital communication, and emotion perception.

Details

Logo image