Study Finds That Abstractions Don’t Elicit Universal Emotional Responses Among Viewers

In Goethe’s 1810 treatise on color he wrote, “red-yellow gives an impression of warmth and gladness.” He added that “the feelings they excite are quick, lively, aspiring.” His idea that visual attributes, like color and form, cause universal responses in viewers has influenced art theory ever since.
But a study published earlier this year in the PLOS ONE journal contested the idea that everyone experiences the same emotions when viewing abstractions. To test that th