In the 1980’s, the walls of psychiatric units, holding cells, and jail cells were painted Baker-Miller Pink after research scientist, Alexander Schauss, claimed it could reduce physical strength and aggressive tendencies of inmates and disturbed patients. His theory was debunked 30 years later by psychologist Oliver Genschow and his colleagues. In a four-year experiment that began in 2011, a Swiss psychologist, Daniela Späth, used a different shade of pink thought to relax prisoners. She called it “Cool Down Pink.” The color was painted in a jail in Switzerland and prison guards reported less aggressive behavior in prisoners who were placed in the pink cells. However, a reporter for a British newspaper, The Telegraph, reported after an interview with a Swiss prison reformer, that the color was degrading as it looked like “a little girl’s bedroom.” Color is clearly powerful; it’s used to shape perception and interpretation. For centuries, researchers have studied how colors influence the human psyche. And colors pose ... Read More