Why People Like The Colour White?

What is the meaning, psychology, motivations and personality of someone who likes the colour white, including wearing it, driving a white car, owning a white phone or with interior design?

The colour white is associated with the following influences and meanings. Heaven, clouds, the light side, pureness, snow, winter, cold, clean/sterile, new starts, openness, futuristic, possibilities and a blank slate.

Color White Psychology – Why People Like White?

Wearing White

There can be several reasons why someone would wear white. White is obviously a very noticeable colour. This could imply that someone doesn’t mind being noticed, perhaps they even seek it. This would lean more towards an extroverted personality.

So possibly extroverted, but a requirement or need for being clean could be a greater motivation. We have an emotion called disgust. Being high in this emotion could be a motivation for choosing white. Those high in disgust have a strong need for cleanliness, they are afraid of infectious diseases, often sterilizing their cutlery and obsessively washing their hands.

This need for to be clean and having a high sensitivity to disgust is believed to be connected to the personality trait, orderliness, on the big five personality traits. Orderliness is also associated with perfectionism, needing things symmetrical and obsessive compulsive disorder.

Being worried about cleanliness and infectious diseases may also be connected to being high in the big five trait neuroticism. Combine trait orderliness and neuroticism and you are likely to have a hypochondriac, someone who often worries irrationally about illness and disease.       

White Car

White cars are currently becoming more popular, this could suggest an awareness and desire of trends. Extroverts tend to be more aware of and are more likely to follow trends, this is connected to social status and hierarchies. White is also considered a modern and futuristic colour which could be a reason why someone would buy a white car. Preferring the new and modern rather than the conventional and traditional.

White Phone

The motivations for choosing a white phone would be similar to choosing a white car, but with a few differences. Cleanliness and simplicity would likely be strong motivations. White is also a common colour when it comes to phones, which may suggest a conventional thinker, and they prioritise fitting in over being unique, with possibly a strong fear of being alienated.  

Interior Design

To choose white in interior design may show a very strong interest in being clean. This need for cleanliness wins out over more comforting and warm colours like beige or taupe. It may also suggest a preference for modern/futuristic appearances over comfort and relaxation. To want their home to look more like a doctor’s or dentist’s surgery is a big indicator of needing things clean and pure, which is perhaps the strongest link to hypochondria, more than the other preferences.

White Colour Personality

So, taking all of the above reasons and motivations into account. Colour white personality is likely extroverted, orderly, sensitive to disgust, likes things clean and symmetrical, future thinking yet conventional, and at least a little bit of a hypochondriac.