Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1985, 61, 689-690.

@ Perceptual and Motor Skills 1985

EFFECTS OF COLORS O N MOOD I N THE

DRAWINGS OF YOUNG CHILDREN
L. W. BUCKALEW AND A. BELL
Alabama A 6 M University
Summzry.-Recognizing associations between color and mood in adults,
including cross-cultural similarities, this study sought to determine these associations in young children. 18 preschool boys and girls drew faces on 14 colored
human figures, each of a different color and sex combination. Mouth drawings
were rated as happy, sad, or indifferent. Chi squared analyses showed no s u p
port for an effect of color or sex. A strong bias towards a happy mood was
noted, irrespective of color.

The use of color to express feelings is deeply rooted in art. A number of

objective and subjective impressions are associated by adults with basic colors,
and Adams and Osgood's (1973) extensive cross-cultural study of the attribution of affect to color found some universal trends for red, black, grey, white,
yellow, blue, and green in terms of meaning and activeness. For adults, the
ability of color to evoke expectations of meaning has been aptly demonstrated
(Buckalew & Coffield, 1982b; Jacobs & Nordan, 1979), though not without
suggestion of cultural differences (Buckalew & Coffield, 1982a). Recently,
Buckalew and Coffield (1985) found no significant sex differences in color
preferences for college students, and Sallis and Buckalew (1984) noted that
expressed color preference did not bias adults' perceptions of colors' relative
activeness.
Much of the evidence relating color to affect and activeness is based on
adult data, leaving open the question of whether these relationships are relatively native or learned. Birren, Kinney, Schaie, and Woodruff (1981) summarized that color perception and preference among young children are
generally no longer debated phenomena, relating mood state to color entails
cognitive as well as perceptual aspects of development. Given that children
learn to attach emotional meaning to words (Staats, 1971), might the same be
true for colors? To support exploration of this question, whether relatively
young children evidence any definitive associations between color and affect
must first be determined.
Method.-Nine boys and nine girls ranging in age from 4 to G yr. who
were attending day care centers were participants. Thirteen children were from
minority groups. A computer-produced drawing of a male and a female figure
was obtained; each was 3.5 in. X 3.5 in. Each child was individually. -presented
14 figures in random order. There were seven figures of each sex; each figure,
within sex, had clothing colored red, blue, green, yellow, black, white, or brown
'Address reprint requests to L. W. Buckalew, Department of Psychology, Box 200,
Alabama A & M University, Normal, AL 35762.

L. W. BUCKALEW

690

&

A. BELL

with crayons to maximize hue saturation. The children were asked to draw
a face on each figure with a lead pencil. The assessment of mood, in response
to color, was based on rating the mouth drawing: an upward curve was defined
as "happy," a downward curve as "sad," and a relatively straight line as "indifferent." Evaluations of mouth angles required the concordance of two judges.
Any drawing which produced disagreement between judges or which had a
nondistinct mouth was discarded.
Resdts.-Each of the 14 figures responded to by a child was assigned to
one of three mood categories, and only 6 of the 252 figures were discarded as
unscorable. A chi squared value of 1.97 '(df = 2, p > .05) resulted from a
3 X 2 test for sex differences in composite mood responses. Combined data
for boys and girls separately were analyzed by a 7 X 3 (colors by mood) test
which yielded a chi squared of 6.73 (df = 12, .p >..05). It was concluded that,
for these children, there were no sex differences in how they responded to the
colors, and colors were not responded to differently in terms of mood. Interestingly, 78% of the collective mood responses were evaluated as "happy"
mouth drawings: each color produced an overwhelming positive affect. Accepting the Eibl-Eibesfeldt (1970) position of a relatively innate and culturally
universal basis for "happy" and "sad" affective espressions, might there be a
predisposition in children towards positive affects which comes to be modified
through experience? These findings, though particularly limited due to the
small number of children tested, suggested that young children might not make
differential associations between color and affect. This interpretation must
respect that the study explored only the 'meaning' and not the 'activeness'
. .
parameter of color-evoked response.
REFERENCES
ADAMS, F. M., & OSGOOD,
C. E. A cross-cultural study of the affective meanlngs of color.
Journal o f Cross-Cultu*al Psychology, 1973, 4. 135-156.
BIRREN,J. E., KINNEY,D K , SCHAIE,K. W.. & WOODRUFF,
D. S. D&elopmental
psychology. Boston, M A Houghton Mifflin, 1981.
BUCKALEW,
L. W., & COFFIELD,
K. E. Drug expectations associated with perceptual
characteristics: e t h n ~ cfactors. Perceptual a n d Motor Skills, 1982, 55, 915-918.
(a)

BUCKALEW,
L. W., & COFFIELD,
K. E. An in;estigacion of drug expectancy as a function
Journal o f .Clinical Psychopharmacology, 1982, 2, 245-248. ( b )
BUCKALEW,
L. W., & COFFIELD,
K. E. Using psychology to support patient compliance:
of capsule color and size and preparation form.

medication perceptual characteristics. Paper presented to the meeting of the

Alabama Academy of Sciences,. Huntsville, AL, 1985.
EIBL-EIBESPELDT,
I. Ethology, the biology o f behavior. New York: Holt, 1970.
JACOBS,K. W., & NORDAN,
F. M. Classification of placebo drugs: effect of color.

Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1979, 49, 367-372.

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& BUCKALEW,
L. W. Relation of capsule color and perceived potency.
Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1984, 58, 897-898.
STAATS, A. W. Child learning, intelligence, and per<onalby. ~ e York:
k
Harper &
Row, 1971.

SALLIS,R. E.,

Accepted August 28,1985.

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