Is red the colour of danger? Testing an implicit red–danger association

Abstract

Research using participant’s self-reports has documented a link between red and danger. In this research, we used two different variants of a Stroop word evaluation task to test for the possibility of an implicit red–danger association using carefully controlled colour stimuli (equated on lightness and chroma). Experiment 1, using words as stimuli, yielded strong evidence of a link between red and danger, and weaker evidence of a green–safety association. Experiment 2, using symbols as stimuli, again yielded strong evidence of a link between red and danger; no green effects were observed. The findings were discussed in terms of the power and promise of red in signal communication.

Abstract

Practitioner Summary: This research documents an implicit association between red and danger. Our findings confirm the wisdom of using red to communicate danger in systematic signal systems, and suggest that red may be used more broadly in other communication contexts to efficiently convey danger-relevant information.

Keywords::

• red
• danger
• implicit association
• signal communication
• green