Read the article. Four fragments have been removed from the text. Complete each gap (5.1.–5.4.) with the fragment which fits best and put the appropriate letter (A–E) in each gap. There is one fragment which you do not need to use.
COLOUR PSYCHOLOGY
Colours have long been believed to affect our behaviour and the way we feel. After all, it’s the first thing we register and use to help assess the things around us, such as whether foods of a certain colour, for example blue, might be poisonous. 5.1.
These pass into the part of the brain that rules our hormones and endocrine system, which are instrumental in regulating our moods. Unconsciously, then, our eyes and bodies constantly adapt to these stimuli, influencing our impulses and perceptions.
While the scientific study of colour is as old as time, the study of colour’s effects on our psyche is much younger. Even two decades ago, the common perception was that, because our response to colour is subjective, it must also be unpredictable. It was the leading UK colour psychologist Angela Wright who, by studying colour harmonies and the often unconscious thought processes related to them, developed a means of predicting our reactions to colour with remarkable accuracy. 5.2.
The key factor is that it is not one colour that triggers our responses, but a combination of shades, dyes or tinges that the human eye can distinguish. For example, a grey sky over a summer cornfield will evoke quite a different emotion than a grey winter sky downtown.
To apply colour psychology successfully, Wright also recognized the need to match the individual’s personality with the appropriate tonal colour family. There are four of these – spring, summer, autumn and winter – each reflecting nature’s patterns, and every shade falls into one of these categories. 5.3.
Even if very different characters reside together in one house, the right colour palette can ease tensions and help create harmony. Therefore, there are no wrong colours per se, but different colour schemes do prompt different responses. 5.4.
It was determined that a bubble-gum pink colour should be used to soothe juvenile delinquents who are behaving violently. When violent juveniles are placed in a small cell coloured in bubble gum pink, they are noted to calm down, stop yelling and usually fall asleep quickly. Colour can affect a person’s behaviour because it can change the way a person feels. It can affect mood, feelings and emotions, as studied in the field of colour psychology.
adapted from www.resene.co.nz; www.reference.com
