Is there a connection between color choices, favorite colors and political views, whether they’re liberal or conservative, left or right?
The answer to this question is yes, possibly to some degree. Let’s look into some colors and their associations, and people’s motivations for choosing certain colors.
This article is a hypothesis which comes from using a combination of color psychology and personality psychology to create a connection between color psychology and political views.
Those who really like pink or consider pink a favorite color tend to be very naturally nurturing and compassionate. Psychologists believe that compassion is a trait that is strong in those who have strong left-leaning political views.
They are likely to have idealistic but not necessarily very practical views of the world, and believe showing compassion can solve most problems. They also support equality for all, therefore believing everybody is equal. This overlaps with some beliefs associated with liberalism.
Purple is similar to pink as it’s associated with compassion, therefore again tilting towards leftist or liberal views. However, purple is also associated with creativity, which is linked to the personality trait (Openness). The openness trait is associated with liberalism. So, I would go with a mix between leftist and liberal political views, borrowing elements of both.
A person who frequently wears or chooses white is often because they have an obsession for cleanliness. This obsession for cleanliness is also referred to as disgust sensitivity. Being high in disgust sensitivity has connections to wanting borders or barriers in order to prevent infectious diseases.
Being high in disgust sensitivity is a good indicator or predictor for those who have more conservative or right-leaning political views.
One of the motivators for wearing black is a survival or defense instinct. Those with strong survival instincts are likely to hold more conservative views. This includes naturally being interested in matters of security, including strong borders, on a smaller, personal and national level.
Another strong and common motivator for liking black is the association it has with power. Those with an interest in power are likely to support hierarchies. Conservative, center-right and right-wing views are often for and support hierarchical power structures.
Often, wearing black could also be a sign of aesthetic sensitivity and the openness trait. The openness trait is associated with liberalism.
In America, there are some obvious connections between the color blue and the Democrat Party, and the color red is associated with the Republican Party. This could be a simple color association and connection to a person’s political views. So, if someone was to like the views of the democrats, they may naturally tilt towards the associated color, which in this case is blue.
In the UK, the Labour Party is red and the Conservative Party is blue. Again due to these associations, color choices or favorite colors could be influenced by political views.
Red also has associations with competitiveness, aggression and achievement. This could be connected to supporting hierarchies, which is in line with more conservative, possibly center-right views.
The color blue is also often associated with conservatism and traditions. The color blue is somewhat a safe, conventional and traditional color. Those who are conventional thinkers and support traditions are normally low in the personality trait openness. Low in trait openness is a good predictor of conservative political views.
The color or material of gold has strong connections to achievement and status. This is likely to suggest that they take a more conservative political viewpoint. Status seeking is the desire to climb up the social status hierarchy, which again is more in line with conservative, center or right-leaning political thinking.
Final Thoughts
This article uses common associations between colors and personality traits to predict political views. The research suggests strong connections between color choices and personality traits. Personality traits can predict political views according to some of the latest developments and research in personality psychology.
Personal situations, knowledge and moods can affect personality traits and perceptions greatly. People are complex, and many variables can alter opinions and perceptions, both temporarily and permanently.
