Stop and look around. You’re surrounded by color. Do the pasty hallways have you feeling blue? Or are you seeing red because you’re bombarded with inspirational posters in your classroom?

“There are [color] combinations that affect our everyday lives,” Maria Washer, Interior Designer at LRS Interiors, said. “I think when something is in your everyday life, the more we know about [color psychology] the better.”

And while you may not have ever considered the impact color has on your personality, businesses use color research to do everything from enticing you to buy products to defining how you feel in your own home.

Interior design is one of these business that have utilized this idea of color psychology to influence the feel of a room.

“Part of design is making a house have a great feel for a client to come home to at the end of the day,” Washer said. “There [has] to be color psychology with people that live in the suburbs versus in the city. There’s a different kind of feel that they’re used to [in the city]. There are more contemporary, brighter colors with more contrast. People in the suburbs generally like warmer tones. We find that with our clients, color depends on the area and the room because each room has a different energy level. A bedroom may not have any neon, but you might want that as an accent in the living room,  which is a room that has more activity and conversation.”

Assumptions such as how location affects color pallets of rooms can get even more defined, such as specific colors. The color red encourages eating, which is why a lot of dining rooms are red. Another opinion is that blue is the most accepted color between nationalities because it can connect to either the sky or the sea, according to Washer.

Even though designers think they understand how color can affect a person’s mood, not all people are so convinced color psychology is valid.

George McNalis, AP Psychology teacher, does not believe it is a logical mode of understanding how humans feel.

“I think a lot of times people are using what they think or what they’ve heard,” Mcnalis said. “When it comes down to it, there is very little scientific research to back up almost anything with color. What they use is sometimes what’s considered more practical. If you look at street signs, they’re always in a bright color to stand out. That’s practical and not scientific based. Something like white is considered very clean, and it’s because when something shows up on it, you can clean it off. That’s practical and not scientific. I think … that sometimes a company will overextend that with something, that they think it’s proof, but it’s actually not.”

These practical-based beliefs can be found all over the internet and people who visit these sites automatically assume the information is correct without any proof, according to McNalis.

Washer advises anyone who wants to learn more about color psychology get information from official home magazines or interior design firms and not random internet sources.

Even though there are more reputable sources to get information from, McNalis believes that money should not be spent to further research information on color psychology to add to the reputable sources.

“I think, when it comes down to it, there’s a lot of stuff that needs more research than [color psychology]. Companies might do market research on it and say, ‘Will potential customers like our logo in blue versus yellow or white or whatever’, and that’s market research. I don’t know why they would need to research it scientifically. If it would serve a purpose, then I think someone would have,” Mcnalis said.

But Washer thinks understanding color on a deeper level can benefit more than just major corporations.

“I absolutely wish that Harper would have a class just on color,” Washer said. “There’s so much about how colors play on emotions and different combinations of colors. I definitely think there should be more information on it. Also, I think with any profession, there’s always a learning curve. The more you can learn about the subject, the better you can be because you’re more knowledgeable.”

What colors mean about you.

RED= Red is a bold, attention seeking color. People who like to wear red do so with confidence.

ORANGE=Orange is thought by scientists to be a harmonizing color. People are thought to be more enthusiastic when wearing the color orange and they are excited to try new things.

YELLOW=Yellow can be uplifting, but scientists have found a person with a yellow room is more likely to go clinically insane than a person with a different colored room. People who wear yellow are thought to be caring towards others, since yellow (in moderation) brings happiness.

GREEN= Green is the most common color in nature and is associated with strength, fertility, and solidarity. People who associate with green often prefer to be alone, but won’t object to settling disputes among friends because of the balance and harmony of the color.

BLUE= Blue promotes relaxation and is often worn in a calming effect. People who wear blue are thought to be content with some part of their lives and will have an easier time communicating with others.

PURPLE= Purple is commonly chosen by royalty and is thought to symbolize power. It is also the color to represent imagination, which is why people who like purple are often very creative and artistic.