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I find the psychological effects of color very interesting. Like many other phenomena we have discussed, these are influenced by culture and personal experience. For example, the color of placebo pills can change their effect; red and orange pills tend to act as stimulants, while blue and green pills tend to act as depressants. However, blue placebo pills have a stimulating effect on Italian men- probably because blue is the color of the national football team. (near the end of this article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A2709-2002Apr29) I wonder, then, why there are so many cross-cultural similarities in color effects. Could it be that humans are hard-wired to perceive different “colors” (actually combinations of wavelengths of light) not only visually, but emotionally? As mcrepeau suggested, it could be related to brightness and an internal clock. I wonder why it would be beneficial to evolve this way…