Color Preference and Rejection in Schizophrenic and Normal Subjects

Introduction: There has been an increasing interest in studies dealing with the relationship between mental disorders and color preference. This study was tailored to evaluate color preference or rejection in schizophrenic and normal subjects.

Materials and Method: Color preference and rejection of 58 patients with DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia were compared with those of 52 normal subjects by Luscher color test. The subjects were told to select a preferred and rejected color among those presented. Data analysis was achieved by T-test and Chi-square test.

Results: Among schizophrenic patients, most frequently preferred colors were blue (25.9%), green (22.4%) and yellow (12.1%) while in normal subjects they were blue (36.5%), green (26.9%) and purple (15.4%). Furthermore, black (20.7%) purple (15.5%) and gray (13.8%) were most frequently rejected colors by schizophrenic patients while black (23.1%), gray (17.3%) and yellow (17.3%) were most frequently rejected colors by normal subjects.

The difference between schizophernics and normal group in color preference and rejection was not statistically significant.

Conclusion: Schizophrenic patients, like normal group, preferred blue and green mostly and rejected black and gray too almost with the same degree. It worth mentioning that further studies need to be done on schizophrenic patient’s symptomatology.