Editing Color (section)

== Cultural perspective ==

The meanings and associations of colors can play a major role in works of art, including literature.<ref name="Westfahl2005">{{cite book |first=Gary |last=Westfahl |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SQMQQyIaACYC&pg=PA142 |title=The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2005 |isbn=978-0313329517 |pages=142–143}}</ref>

=== Associations ===
Individual colors have a variety of cultural associations such as [[national colors]] (in general described in individual color articles and [[color symbolism]]). The field of [[color psychology]] attempts to identify the effects of color on human emotion and activity. [[Chromotherapy]] is a pseudoscientific therapy attributed to various Eastern traditions. Colors have different associations in different countries and cultures.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chart: Color Meanings by Culture |url=http://www.globalization-group.com/edge/resources/color-meanings-by-culture/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20101012003744/http://www.globalization-group.com/edge/resources/color-meanings-by-culture/ |archive-date=2010-10-12 |access-date=2010-06-29}}</ref>

Different colors have been demonstrated to have effects on cognition. For example, researchers at the University of Linz in Austria demonstrated that the color red significantly decreases cognitive functioning in men.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dzulkifli |first1=Mariam |last2=Mustafar |first2=Muhammad |year=2013 |title=The Influence of Colour on Memory Performance: A Review |journal=The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=3–9 |doi=10.1016/j.chb.2010.06.010|s2cid=17764339 }}</ref> The combination of the colors red and yellow together can induce hunger, which has been capitalized on by a number of chain restaurants.<ref>{{cite web |title=There's a sneaky reason why you always see red and yellow on fast food logos |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/fast-food-colors-make-you-hungry-2018-9?r=MX&IR=T#:~:text=There's%20a%20sneaky%20reason%20why,yellow%20on%20fast%20food%20logos&text=Fast%20food%20chains%2C%20from%20McDonald's,feel%20more%20hungry%20and%20impulsive. |access-date=2022-02-09 |website=[[Business Insider]]}}</ref>

Color plays a role in memory development too. A photograph that is in black and white is slightly less memorable than one in color.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gnambs |first1=Timo |last2=Appel |first2=Markus |last3=Batinic |first3=Bernad |year=2010 |title=Color red in web-based knowledge testing |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |volume=26 |issue=6 |pages=1625–1631 |doi=10.1016/j.chb.2010.06.010|s2cid=17764339 }}</ref> Studies also show that wearing bright colors makes one more memorable to people they meet.

=== Terminology ===
{{main|Color term}}
{{see also|Lists of colors|Web colors}}
Colors vary in several different ways, including [[hue]] (shades of [[red]], [[orange (colour)|orange]], [[yellow]], [[green]], [[blue]], and [[violet (color)|violet]], etc.), [[colorfulness|saturation]], [[brightness]]. Some color words are derived from the name of an object of that color, such as "[[orange (colour)|orange]]" or "[[salmon (color)|salmon]]", while others are abstract, like "red".

In the 1969 study ''[[Basic Color Terms]]: Their Universality and Evolution'', [[Brent Berlin]] and [[Paul Kay]] describe a pattern in naming "basic" colors (like "red" but not "red-orange" or "dark red" or "blood red", which are "shades" of red). All languages that have two "basic" color names distinguish dark/cool colors from bright/warm colors. The next colors to be distinguished are usually red and then yellow or green. All languages with six "basic" colors include black, white, red, green, blue, and yellow. The pattern holds up to a set of twelve: black, gray, white, pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, and [[azure (color)|azure]] (distinct from blue in [[Russian language|Russian]] and [[Italian language|Italian]], but not English).