Exposure to the Color Red Enhances Creative Thinking Depending on Appetitive-Aversive Cues

This research explored the notion that the effect of the color red on creative thinking varies depending on someone's appetitive (vs. aversive) motivational orientation prior to the creative act. Specifically, inducing approach-related appetite (relative to avoidance-related aversion) in participants would enhance creative thinking, because the color red then triggers the approach-related meaning of potential success. A classroom experiment using a Remote Associates Test showed that appetition (relative to aversion), indeed, yielded more creativity for red than for blue. These results confirmed this article's prediction, and especially contribute to existing color research on the context specificity of the color red.