Book smarts aren’t the only way to measure intelligence… and neither is IQ. Emotional intelligence has true value in our work and personal lives.
According to the American Psychological Association (APA) Dictionary of Psychology, people with high emotional intelligence (EQ or EI) can accurately identify, express and regulate their own and others’ emotions. To determine whether or not someone has high emotional intelligence, you may evaluate how empathetic they are or how well they manage stressful situations.
However, first, it’s worth asking: Is it possible to determine someone’s emotional intelligence by their favorite color? While the answer isn’t as black-and-white as “yes or no,” color preference can provide clues into whether someone is emotionally intelligent.
“Emotionally intelligent people are often more aware of the environments they create around themselves, and color is one of the most powerful tools shaping those environments,” explains Michelle Lewis, a color psychology expert, certified color analyst, author and the founder of ColorAnalysis.com and The Color Institute. “In my work as both a color psychologist and color analyst, I look at color through two lenses: how it affects the human nervous system and how it interacts with the individual wearing or experiencing it.”
For this reason, it’s important to remember that color is one powerful tool, but not the only.
“Color preference alone does not determine emotional intelligence,” says Helen Plehn, the founder, author, artist and spiritual teacher at Helen Creates Beauty.
With that caveat out of the way, it’s worth reflecting on how your color preference may help to shape you. Scroll on for Lewis’ insights on the three favorite colors often linked to emotional intelligence (and whether any favorite colors signal lower EI). She also shares insights into color psychology, including what it is and what people’s preferences can and cannot tell us.
Related: 7 Signs You Have a Deep Winter Color Palette, According to a Color Analyst
What Is Color Psychology?
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“Color psychology is the study of how different hues influence human emotion, cognition and behavior,” Lewis tells Parade. “At its core, it explores how wavelengths of light within the visible spectrum interact with the human brain and nervous system, shaping how we feel, think and respond to our environment.”
If you’re unfamiliar with color analysis and psychology, you might be a bit skeptical, but there is a science behind all of it.
“Color is one of the fastest signals the brain processes—it shapes how we feel, how we think and how others interpret us before a single word is spoken,” she explains.
She also points to research in neuroscience and environmental psychology that color psychology can influence physiological reactions, including:
- Heart rate
- Blood pressure
- Attention levels
- Emotional arousal
Is There a Real Relationship Between Personality and Color Preferences?
The short answer: “Yes, but it’s layered,” Plehn states.
Research shows a modest link between personality and color preferences, but nothing is definitive.
In her work, Lewis takes a holistic look at various ways color can influence us—and the many factors that play into these preferences. Importantly, Lewis adds that color psychology is never 100% about biology. Other factors, like culture, memory, science, environment and symbolism can all come into play.
“That’s why the same color can feel calming in one context and stimulating in another,” she points out. “In my work, I view color psychology as a combination of physiology, psychology and lived human experience… the interaction between what our eyes perceive and what our brains and cultures have learned to associate with colors over time.”
Still, she emphasizes that emotionally intelligent people are also aware of and intentional about the environments they create around themselves. Color is significant when emotionally intelligent people create these environments.
She also points out that there’s overlap between color analysis and emotional intelligence: self-awareness.
“People who are highly emotionally aware often become very intentional about the colors they surround themselves with or wear, because they recognize how those choices affect both their own mindset and how others perceive them,” she says.
Related: Here’s What Every Mood Ring Color Actually Means, According to a Color Psychology Expert
3 Favorite Colors Often Linked to Emotional Intelligence, According to a Color Analyst
1. Shades of green
Lewis points out that green tends to be “visually comfortable and balanced to the human eye” because it sits near the middle of the visible spectrum.
She says that psychology and environmental design link green with:
- Restoration
- Balance
- Emotional equilibrium
“Because emotional intelligence involves balancing logic, empathy and self-regulation, people who prefer green often value harmony and emotional stability in their surroundings,” she shares.
2. Shades of blue
You may have expected blue to show up on this list if you know even a thing or two about color psychology.
“Blue is frequently associated with calm, reflection and thoughtful decision-making,” Lewis says.
She adds that exposure to blue is also associated with lower pulse rates and physiological arousal, helping to create a focused, contemplative mental state.
“Because emotional intelligence relies heavily on self-awareness and emotional regulation, people who gravitate toward blue often appreciate environments that allow for reflection and thoughtful communication,” she continues. “Blue is also widely associated with trust and stability, which is why it appears so frequently in leadership branding and professional environments.”
3. Shades of yellow
“Yellow is closely tied to mental stimulation, optimism and forward thinking,” Lewis says.
She explains that yellow is one of the most visually stimulating colors to the human eye and nervous system because of its place near the center of the visible spectrum. Yellow has long been linked with hope, curiosity and intellectual engagement in psychology, she notes.
“In moderate amounts, it can encourage open thinking and creativity,” she shares. “For people who value emotional intelligence, that sense of curiosity and openness to ideas often aligns with yellow’s symbolic role as a color of possibility and optimism.”
Related: 45 Brilliant Color Names for Boys and Girls
Are There Specific Favorite Colors Linked To Lower Emotional Intelligence?
Even though there are colors associated with higher emotional intelligence, Lewis isn’t sold on this other idea.
“It would be inaccurate to say that any color preference directly signals lower emotional intelligence,” she states. “Emotional intelligence is a complex skill set involving empathy, self-awareness and emotional regulation—far more nuanced than a single color preference.”
Still, she states that some colors are more frequently linked with emotional neutrality or suppression. Context matters.
“Black, gray and white are considered achromatic colors, meaning they don’t correspond to a single wavelength in the visible spectrum the way colors like red or blue do,” Lewis explains. “Because of this, our responses to them are less tied to biological reactions and more shaped by cultural meaning and symbolism.”
For instance, Western culture often associates black with periods of mourning (hence why it’s a default for funerals). But Lewis says other countries consider it a symbol of formality and authority.
“White can represent purity in some societies and mourning in other countries,” she adds.
Still, you may feel a certain way about these colors.
“In environments dominated by achromatic colors, people sometimes report feeling emotionally muted simply because there is less visual stimulation, like in prisons or offices,” she explains. “But this does not mean someone who prefers these colors has lower emotional intelligence… it simply highlights how much context and culture influence our interpretation of color.”
Plus, selecting an achromatic color may have been done with great intent.
“From a color analysis perspective, black, gray and white are often chosen for their neutrality and structure rather than emotional expression,” she states. “They create contrast and clarity in clothing and design, but because they lack chroma, they don’t stimulate the same emotional responses that saturated hues do.”
Up Next:
Related: If You Commonly Use These 7 Phrases, You’re More Emotionally Intelligent Than You Might Realize, According to a Psychologist
Sources:
- Emotional Intelligence. American Psychological Association (APA).
- Handbook of color psychology. American Psychological Association (APA).
- Michelle Lewis is a color psychology expert, certified color analyst, author and the founder of ColorAnalysis.com and The Color Institute. She’s also the author of Color Secrets: Learning The One Universal Language We Were Never Taught.
- Helen Plehn is the founder, author, artist and spiritual teacher at Helen Creates Beauty.
- An ecological valence theory of human color preference. PNAS.
- Color, arousal, and performance—A comparison of three experiments. Color Research & Application.
