Chromophobia

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Chromophobia
Other namesChromatophobia
A bowl of red strawberries
The fear of the color red is called erythrophobia.
SpecialtyPsychology

Chromophobia (also known as chromatophobia

conditioned response.[2] While actual clinical phobias to color are rare, colors can elicit hormonal responses and psychological reactions.[3]

Chromophobia may also refer to an aversion of use of color in products or design.

hematoxylin,[5] and is related to chromatolysis.[6]

Terminology

Names exist that mean fear of specific colors such as erythrophobia for the fear of red, xanthophobia for the fear of yellow and leukophobia for the fear of white.[2] A fear of the color red may be associated with a fear of blood.[2]

Overview

In his book Chromophobia published in 2000, David Batchelor says that in Western culture, color has often been treated as corrupting, foreign or superficial.[7] Michael Taussig states that the cultural aversion to color can be traced back a thousand years,[8] with Batchelor stating that it can be traced back to Aristotle's privileging of line over color.[9]

In a study, hatchling

geese have been conditioned to have adverse reactions to foods of a particular color, although the reaction was not observed in reaction to colored water.[13]

The title character in Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie has an aversion to the color red caused by a trauma during her childhood[14] which Hitchcock presents through expressionistic techniques, such as a wash of red coloring a close up of Marnie.[15]

The term colorphobia can also be used refer to its literal etymological origin to refer to an apprehension towards image processing on one's vision and its visual perceptual property.[16] However, the term's association with a racial component has been used by public figures such as Frederick Douglass.[17]

Leukophobia often takes the form of a fixation on pale skin. Those with the phobia may make implausible assumptions such as paleness necessarily representing ill health or a ghost.[18] In other cases, leukophobia is directed more towards the symbolic meaning of whiteness, for instance in individuals who associate the color white with chastity and are opposed to or fear chastity.[19] In Paul Beatty's novel Slumberland, leukophobia refers to racism.[20]

Variations

Show
Chrysophobia fear of the color orange
Cyanophobia fear of the color blue
Erythrophobia fear of the color red, maroon, and also of blushing
Glaucophobia fear of the color gray
Kastanophobia fear of the color brown
Leukophobia fear of the color white
Melanophobia fear of the color black
Porphyrophobia fear of the color purple
Prasinophobia fear of the color green
Rhodophobia fear of the color pink
Xanthophobia fear of the color yellow

See also

References