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Color Psychology ​

Red vs Blue ​



Taken From Psychology: Red Enhances Human Performance In Contests​

Applications In Smash ​

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Red

Positives: Courage, strength, warmth, energy, 'fight or flight', stimulation, masculinity, excitement

Negatives: Defiance, aggression, visual impact, strain

Blue

Positive : Intelligence, communication, trust, efficiency, serenity, duty, logic, coolness, reflection, calm.

Intelligence, communication, trust, efficiency, serenity, duty, logic, coolness, reflection, calm. Negative: Coldness, aloofness, lack of emotion, unfriendliness.

Yellow

Positive: Optimism, confidence, self-esteem, extroversion, emotional strength, friendliness, creativity.

Negative: Irrationality, fear, emotional fragility, anxiety,

Green

Positive: Harmony, balance, refreshment, rest, restoration, reassurance, equilibrium, peace.

Negative: Boredom, stagnation, blandness, enervation.

Purple

Positive: Containment, vision, luxury, authenticity, truth, quality.



Negative: Introversion, decadence, suppression, inferiority.

Orange

Positive: Physical comfort, food, warmth, security, passion, abundance, fun.

Negative: Deprivation, frustration, frivolity, immaturity.

Pink

Positive: Physical tranquillity, nurture, warmth, femininity, love, survival of the species.

Negative: Inhibition, emotional claustrophobia, emasculation, physical weakness.

Grey

Positive: Psychological neutrality.

Negative: Lack of confidence, dampness, depression, hibernation, lack of energy.

Black

Positive: Sophistication, glamour, security, emotional safety, efficiency, substance.

Negative: Oppression, coldness, menace, heaviness.

White

Positive: Hygiene, sterility, clarity, purity, cleanness, simplicity, sophistication, efficiency.

Negative: Sterility, coldness, barriers, unfriendliness, elitism.

Brown

Positive: Seriousness, warmth, Nature, earthiness, reliability, support.

Negative: Lack of humour, heaviness, lack of sophistication.

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Welcome to the first ever edition of! This will be a special series of articles delving into the curiosities of Smash through a scientific lens. Imagine if the color of the character a player chose could affect their win rate. Now think if the colors of a stage chosen could change the way two competitors played out a match. Both of these things are VERY possible. So sit down and prepare to learn the science ofColor psychology is a very unique form of psychological study where scientists study how various color hues can affect human behavior. It may not seem like colors have that much power over the human psyche but it has been proven they often do. They can change how we taste food, reduce crime rates, change how attractive we find people, make people more likely to purchase products, but most importantly to Smash players potentially increase their win rates and change how they play during a given match.Many competitive sports as well as video games place competitors into separate uniforms with specific colors with the most commonly used being red and blue. While most would never see this as unfair the competitors in red have actually been shown to win more matches of even skill than those who were in blue. In a study publish in 2008 data was taken from 1,347 games with equally skilled players in Unreal Tournament 2004 , a game in which teams were either the red team or the blue team. While the data was expected to be split much closer to the middle it turned out that the team in red won 5% more matches than the team in blue.While it may not seem like a large number, those conducting the study found it to be quite significant.the study published. So why is it that the red could actually increase their win rate?It doesn't stop in the world of virtual competition either. A study done during the 2004 Olympic games showed that those of equal skill who wore red while competing in boxing, taekwondo, and freestyle wrestling won 10% more of their matches than their blue wearing counterparts. Another study also showed referees were more likely to award the player wearing red more points than those in blue. A study of the 2004 EUFA European Championship found teams in red were more likely to win games and perform better. Yetstudy showing player taking penalty kicks in soccer were likely to perform worse if the goalkeeper wore a red uniform.So does this article just end with Red is Best ? It might have if not for studies done within League of Legends. In said study done for The Daily Dot , it was shown that players who were on the blue team were the ones winning a significantly larger number of matches. In the 2014 North American Summer Playoffs for League of Legends the teams in blue won 79.3% of games over their red counterparts. The colors actually affected many aspects of play whether red or blue was chosen all of which can be found in the original study here This study however does not show that red cannot offer an advantage, nor does it show that these color choices and results came from random luck. It shows that different colors will help players perform in different ways. It seems that blue colors encourage creativity and thinking in the long term where as red colors encouraged more aggression among players. Famous Youtube channel The Game Theorists covered this subject in more detail in a video released in June of 2015 which can be viewed by those wanting to learn even more.So how can this color psychology be applied to matches in Super Smash Bros? To start it is worth knowing the affects and associations created in people by the most common colors seen. These descriptions are taken courtesy of Colour Affects UK So when choosing the colors of character outfits or stages these things can be considered. Need to have aggression and confidence in a match? A consider costumes with red, orange, and yellow while picking stages with with lots of similar bright colors. Need to stay calm, collected, and creative? Consider blues or purples Blues could also be useful for teams matches as it encourages communication.so these color choices will not give a large edge in a lopsided match. There are many more applications for these color choices that are there to be found so be sure to experiment!That is all from this edition of! Learn something interesting from the article or have a cool application for colors in Smash we missed? Sound off in the comments below and stay tuned to Smashboards for futurearticles!