The Manchester Color Wheel: development of a novel way of identifying color choice and its validation in healthy, anxious and depressed individuals

Abstract

BackgroundFor the purposes of our research programme we needed a simple, reliable and validated method for allowing choice of a color in response to a series of questions. On reviewing the literature no such instrument was available and this study aimed to rectify this situation. This was achieved by developing a simple method of presenting a series of colors to people validating it in healthy volunteers and in individuals where color choice might be distorted, namely anxiety and depression.MethodsA series of different presentations of four shades of eight colors and grey, as well as black and white were evaluated. 'Mood', 'favourite' and 'drawn to' colors were assessed in 105 healthy, 108 anxious and 110 depressed participants. The positive, neutral or negative attribution of these colors was recorded in a further 204 healthy volunteers.ResultsThe circular presentation of colors was most favoured (Color Wheel). Yellow was the most 'drawn to' color and blue the commonest 'favourite' color in all subjects. Yellow was most often associated with a normal mood and grey with an anxious or depressed mood. Different shades of the same color had completely different positive or negative connotations. Reproducibility was exceptionally high when color choice was recorded in positive, neutral or negative terms.ConclusionsThe Color Wheel could be used to assess health status, mood or even treatment outcome in a variety of clinical situations. It may also have utility in circumstances where verbal communication may not be optimal, such as with children.

Synesthesia, Pseudo-Synesthesia, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome

“…This hypersensitivity is not confined to the rectum [47], and there is now evidence that IBS patients react more to other external stimuli, such as sound [48][49][50], and the co-existence of fibromyalgia with IBS [51] is suggestive of a more generalized hypersensitivity, which also involves the central nervous system [52][53][54]. We have recently been studying the role of color and imagery in IBS in two ways [55,56]: firstly, by having a medical artist paint, in watercolor, the images which patients have of their illness [56] and secondly, by developing an instrument, called the Manchester Color Wheel [57], which enables individuals to choose a color in relation to a question such as ''color of mood?'' or ''color of illness?.''…”

Color studies in applied psychology and social sciences: An overview

“…Many instruments have been developed, such as the Pfister's Colour Pyramid test (1950) (Schaie, 1963); the Rorschach Inkblot test (1927) (Klopfer & Davidson, 1962), the Lüscher Colour test (1948) (Lüscher, 1969), the Lowenfeld Mosaic test (Lowenfeld, 1952); and different tests used regionally, for instance the Frieling Test (Muths, 2001), the Weyssenhoff test (Weyssenhoff, 1991) or, recently developed the Manchester Colour Wheel (Carruthers, Morris, Tarrier, Whorwell, 2010). They have been designed mostly to interpret the human psyche, for instance personality.…”

Letter: using pictures to improve communication between doctor and patient in functional gastrointestinal disorders – authors' reply

“…3,4 They have further elaborated this approach in studies of the Manchester colour wheel, where a relationship was found between emotions and mood state and choice of colours. [5][6][7] Colour choices were not associated with symptom severity but did change as associated mood disturbances changed. 6 We did not cite these studies as the aims of our study and its use of pictograms were very different.…”