Article Version of Record

What does your favourite colour say about your personality? Not much

Qu'est-ce que votre couleur préférée dit sur votre personnalité? Pas grand-chose

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Jonauskaite, Domicele
Thalmayer, Amber Gayle
Müller, Lauriane
Mohr, Christine

Abstract / Description

The claim that favourite colours reveal individuals’ personalities is popular in the media yet lacks scientific support. We assessed this claim in two stages. First, we catalogued claims from six popular websites, and matched them to key Big Six/HEXACO trait terms, ultimately identifying 11 specific, systematic, testable predictions (e.g., higher Extraversion among those who prefer red, orange, yellow, pink, or turquoise). Next, we tested these predictions in terms of the Big Six personality trait scores and reports of favourite and least favourite colours from 323 French-speaking participants. For every prediction (e.g., red-extraversion), we compared trait scores between participants who chose or did not choose the predicted colour using Welch’s t-tests. We failed to confirm any of the 11 predictions. Further exploratory analyses (MANOVA) revealed no associations between colour preferences and personality trait. Favourite colours appear unrelated to personality, failing to support the practical utility of colour-based personality assessment.

Keyword(s)

colour preference 30QB6 Big Six HEXACO beliefs individual differences personality correlates affect cross-modal correspondences préférence de couleur 30QB6 Big Six HEXACO croyances différences individuelles traits de personnalité affect correspondances cross-modal

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2021-12-14

Journal title

Personality Science

Volume

2

Article number

Article e6297

Publisher

PsychOpen GOLD

Publication status

publishedVersion

Review status

peerReviewed

Is version of

Citation

Jonauskaite, D., Thalmayer, A. G., Müller, L., & Mohr, C. (2021). What does your favourite colour say about your personality? Not much. Personality Science, 2, Article e6297. https://doi.org/10.5964/ps.6297
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Jonauskaite, Domicele
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Thalmayer, Amber Gayle
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Müller, Lauriane
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Mohr, Christine
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2022-04-14T11:25:17Z
  • Made available on
    2022-04-14T11:25:17Z
  • Date of first publication
    2021-12-14
  • Abstract / Description
    The claim that favourite colours reveal individuals’ personalities is popular in the media yet lacks scientific support. We assessed this claim in two stages. First, we catalogued claims from six popular websites, and matched them to key Big Six/HEXACO trait terms, ultimately identifying 11 specific, systematic, testable predictions (e.g., higher Extraversion among those who prefer red, orange, yellow, pink, or turquoise). Next, we tested these predictions in terms of the Big Six personality trait scores and reports of favourite and least favourite colours from 323 French-speaking participants. For every prediction (e.g., red-extraversion), we compared trait scores between participants who chose or did not choose the predicted colour using Welch’s t-tests. We failed to confirm any of the 11 predictions. Further exploratory analyses (MANOVA) revealed no associations between colour preferences and personality trait. Favourite colours appear unrelated to personality, failing to support the practical utility of colour-based personality assessment.
    en_US
  • Publication status
    publishedVersion
  • Review status
    peerReviewed
  • Citation
    Jonauskaite, D., Thalmayer, A. G., Müller, L., & Mohr, C. (2021). What does your favourite colour say about your personality? Not much. Personality Science, 2, Article e6297. https://doi.org/10.5964/ps.6297
    en_US
  • ISSN
    2700-0710
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/5730
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.6334
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Publisher
    PsychOpen GOLD
  • Is version of
    https://doi.org/10.5964/ps.6297
  • Is version of
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.5256
  • Is related to
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.5273
  • Is related to
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.5274
  • Is related to
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.5256
  • Is related to
    https://www.psychology.uzh.ch/en/areas/sob/psyges/research/qb6.html
  • Keyword(s)
    colour preference
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    30QB6 Big Six
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    HEXACO
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    beliefs
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    individual differences
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    personality correlates
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    affect
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    cross-modal correspondences
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    préférence de couleur
    fr_FR
  • Keyword(s)
    30QB6 Big Six
    fr_FR
  • Keyword(s)
    HEXACO
    fr_FR
  • Keyword(s)
    croyances
    fr_FR
  • Keyword(s)
    différences individuelles
    fr_FR
  • Keyword(s)
    traits de personnalité
    fr_FR
  • Keyword(s)
    affect
    fr_FR
  • Keyword(s)
    correspondances cross-modal
    fr_FR
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    What does your favourite colour say about your personality? Not much
    en_US
  • Alternative title
    Qu'est-ce que votre couleur préférée dit sur votre personnalité? Pas grand-chose
    fr_FR
  • DRO type
    article
  • Article number
    Article e6297
  • Journal title
    Personality Science
  • Volume
    2
  • Visible tag(s)
    Version of Record
    en_US