Open Access Paper
17 February 2010 Human preference for individual colors
Stephen E. Palmer, Karen B. Schloss
Author Affiliations +
Proceedings Volume 7527, Human Vision and Electronic Imaging XV; 752718 (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.849110
Event: IS&T/SPIE Electronic Imaging, 2010, San Jose, California, United States
Abstract
Color preference is an important aspect of human behavior, but little is known about why people like some colors more than others. Recent results from the Berkeley Color Project (BCP) provide detailed measurements of preferences among 32 chromatic colors as well as other relevant aspects of color perception. We describe the fit of several color preference models, including ones based on cone outputs, color-emotion associations, and Palmer and Schloss's ecological valence theory. The ecological valence theory postulates that color serves an adaptive "steering' function, analogous to taste preferences, biasing organisms to approach advantageous objects and avoid disadvantageous ones. It predicts that people will tend to like colors to the extent that they like the objects that are characteristically that color, averaged over all such objects. The ecological valence theory predicts 80% of the variance in average color preference ratings from the Weighted Affective Valence Estimates (WAVEs) of correspondingly colored objects, much more variance than any of the other models. We also describe how hue preferences for single colors differ as a function of gender, expertise, culture, social institutions, and perceptual experience.
© (2010) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Stephen E. Palmer and Karen B. Schloss "Human preference for individual colors", Proc. SPIE 7527, Human Vision and Electronic Imaging XV, 752718 (17 February 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.849110
Lens.org Logo
CITATIONS
Cited by 5 scholarly publications.
Advertisement
Advertisement
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission  Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace
KEYWORDS
Colorimetry

Data modeling

Organisms

Forward error correction

Systems modeling

Color vision

Gold

RELATED CONTENT


Back to Top