ABSTRACT

Color is often overlooked or disregarded in terms of significance despite the prominence it has. In this study, the researcher asked participants to complete four tasks (connect the dots, find the difference, simple multiplication, word search) with four writing utensils swapped out per task (pencils, markers, crayons, pens), each in 5 different colors (red, orange, green, blue, and purple). The participant could choose independently for each task in hopes of identifying a connection between repeated color choice and personality traits such as self-esteem, aggressive personality traits, and an individual’s locus of control. It was hypothesized that individuals reporting greater external locus of control and more aggressive traits would utilize the color red more often. In contrast, it was also predicted that individuals reporting a lower self-esteem would more frequently utilize the color blue. IRB approval was granted, and a total of 61 participants were gathered on Rochester University’s campus. Both hypotheses were rejected in this study. Interestingly, a significant negative correlation between Locus of Control and Self-esteem scores (r(59) = -.35, p = .006) was revealed. This suggests that those who reported a greater internal Locus of Control also reported a higher Self-esteem score. The researcher also found a positive correlation between self reported Self-esteem scores and college education responses, (r(59) = .29, p = .025). This suggests that the more college experience a person has, the higher their self-esteem. Research looking into color use and underlying personality traits could yield important implications about the nature of human beings. Greater knowledge of the emotional impact of colors may be utilized by increasing or decreasing the usage of specific colors in certain situations as a subtle way of controlling emotions in public places. Color knowledge may also be used as an aid in personal therapy techniques.