The Lüscher Color Test

by Max Lüscher, Ian A. Scott (Translator and Editor)

The principle of the Lüscher Color Test is that psychological information can be gained through selections & rejections of colors. A simplified version of the test may be taken & interpreted quickly. Laypersons can self-administer it, even before reading the book. In fact, it's advisable: reading the text beforehand may prejudice color selections. By following the instructions on pages I-III, which explain how to use the eight bound-in color cards & the Interpretation Tables, readers will find how psychologically revealing color choices can be.
Preliminary Instructions
Preliminary Interpretation
Instructions for Conducting the Test
Color Psychology: The origin of color significance
The physiology of color
The development of color vision
"Color blindness" makes no difference
The Lüscher test
Functional Psychology: The significance of the eight positions
Interpreting the functions
The basic & auxiliary colors: Color-coding of the eight colors
Categories of the four basic colors
Combined basic colors
Basic colors should be preferred
The auxiliary colors
Grouping & marking the 8-color sequence
Anxieties, compensations & conflicts: Stress-sources
Compensations
Exaggerated compensations
Intensity of the anxiety & compensation
Prognosis
Summary of rules for marking anxieties & compensations
The "actual problem"
Ambivalence
The rejected or suppressed characteristic
"Emotional" personalities
Conflict between objective & behavior
Instability of the autonomic nervous system
Work & exhaustibility
The meaning of the eight colors
Grey
Blue
Green
Red
Yellow
Violet
Brown
Black
Structural meaning of the color pairs
Test interpretation: A word of warning
Examples of test analyses
Interpretation Tables
Appendices
Literature about the Lüscher Color Test

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Self Help, Art

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1949

Reviews

[Kamrani Adnan]

کتابی که دوره راهنمایی خوندم رو الان تو گودریدز دیدم
دورانی که به شدت به دنبال روانشناسی عامیانه و زرد بودم!
خلاصه یادش بخیر!

[Arman V]

این کتابو حدود 4 سال پیش خوندم
اون موقع خیلی قبولش داشتم ولی الان که فکر می‌کنم می‌بینم نمیشه شخصیت انسال هارو از روی رنگ ها شناخت
ولی در کل خوندش ضرری نداره

[Ali Noroozian]

چه ارتباط جالبی بین خلقیات انسان و رنگها وجود دارد

[Tarannom]

چرا دوستاره ? تاثیر رنگها برمی گرده به حال و هوای روان انسانها و نمیشه کلی در موردشون نظر داد ،دسته بندي هاي ارائه شده در کتاب و عمومیت دادن اون رو اصلا قبول ندارم .

[Susan Rainwater]

Like most other categorical personality systems, the Lusher Color Test is complete nonsense, pop-psychology at its worst. I read this as a teenager, and even then, it seemed simplistic and silly.

Dennis Dutton's "The Art Instinct" makes a compelling evolutionary argument for why we prefer certain colors over others that renders the idea of a color test completely invalid.

[Fabrizio Valenza]

Molto interessante. Certo, bisogna sapere come prendere le cose che vengono dette, ma è molto interessante.

[Johnny]

This tiny psychology book is a wealth of self discovery. Written in the era following World War II when a wealth of data was available in quantities unheard of before, Luscher has compiled a system of personality profiling which is eerily accurate in a short and simple test.

You may be sceptical at first, given this slim volume, but the veracity of the results cannot be denied.

[Francesca]

Interessante, curioso e abbastanza affidabile. Per amor di conoscenza, lo consiglio. Lo confesso, io mi ci sono divertita un sacco! :) Non credo che l'autore sarebbe contento di ciò, tuttavia meglio che l'indifferenza, o no?

[Elizabeth McIlhaney]

A fun read when I was in my teens or twenties, when I read it, but shallow and unfulfilling, more like a game than anything to take seriously.

[Val the Virgo]

I don't cate to give this a star rating as this is a very basic informational text.

I'm quite shocked by how accurate this test is! Most people think of the Rorschach inkblot test as a staple in psychoanalysis but I'm surprised the Color Test isn't as popular. (Of course, I'm speaking as someone who's not in the psychological field so, I don't know, maybe this is really popular?)
As someone who has synesthesia (sounds have colours for me) I've always been curious about the psychology behind colours. The text is a bit dated and the language used is pretty complicated but I found it fascinating nonetheless.

[Betty]

I picked up this book for 10p in a charity shop, it had the cards and so I did the test. I found it to be very inaccurate only one or two of the interpretations had any similarity to my actual personality. I will probably do the test with some other family members to see if it fairs any better with them and perhaps try myself again at a later date.

Other than that it is an interesting artifact of its time and there are some interesting ideas about colours and their significance and how they may affect us. Its quite expensive to buy a book with the cards online so I am glad I only paid 10p for this copy!

[Abigail G]

A simple test with a complex basis behind it. The basic were easy enough to understand but there were whole chapters explaining the colors' status and relation to the others that were extremely complicated to understand.

[Will]

This book features in the infamous Nicolas Roeg movie "Bad Timing," inspiring a friend to get a copy and administer the "test" to us. The test is very silly pseudo-science but makes for a fun party game.

[Stargazer]

colour cards are pretty horrible but quite an interesting wee test with some interesting text on meaning of colours.

[Θέμης Σαρανταένας]

Ενδιαφέρουσα θεωρία. Δύσκολη στην εφαρμογή θεωρώ.

[J.]

A blast from the past....dated it is but some of the stuff about colour perception & how it affects nervous system/physiology is interesting. 2.5 stars.

[Lafcadio]

Pop psychology personality test that uses more math than I expected.

[Ciara Mckinzie]

So much more interesting and strangely accurate.


Current- +4+5 x6x3 =2=7 -1-0


Subconscious- +3+2 x5x4 =6=1 -07

+4-0
+3-7

[Karen]

Discover the hidden meaning of what your color preferences say about your personality and current emotional state.

I have a healthy dose of skepticism regarding the validity of tests such as this; I am not a believer of astrology nor do I read my horoscope. Really, how accurate could my color choices be in revealing my current inner anxieties and conflicts? It turns out pretty accurate indeed. The results blew my mind, no kidding. My fiancé and I took this test and the results we received hit the nail on the head as the saying goes.
The results of your test will vary each time you take it depending on what’s going on in your life at the moment. There are 8 color cards; you put them in order of your preference from left to right. You then turn the cards over and write down the numbers on the back of the cards. Next you repeat the process and it’s important not to try to select the colors in the same order, just line them up in order of preference again. Your selection of colors should be independent of what colors you prefer for your car, walls, and clothing. Select whatever color strikes you at that moment.
The fact that 8 colored cards reveal so much about personality and anxieties in particular is amazing. Perhaps the results are generalizations, thought I, and can be fit into anyone’s unique situation and disposition. But I read some of the other results and they didn’t fit me at all. The results both my fiancé and I received totally captured our personalities and accurately reflected what is going on in our lives. And our results were unique; his results fit him perfectly and mine fit me, they were not interchangeable flakey horoscope results that fit anyone who reads it.
Although the book warns that this test shouldn’t be used as a mere parlor trick, I found it to be a really fun and insightful self-analysis tool and would definitely try it out with my friends. I don’t know how psychologically accurate it is but it certainly rang true to us. And did I mention it was fun?

[KennyO]

This was, I think, in the vanguard of the 1970's tsunami of self reflection and self help books. With it you could interpret your mood through the order of your selections from a set of eight single-color cards. Not that anyone in my circle felt the need to interpret mood through that book and cards but we were entertained by our evaluation of ourselves and one another, sometimes debating what was written there. This is a much simplified version of Luscher's full test but I never learned if there was any more substance to the full test than there was to this condensed version. Since I've read no mention of it for decades I'll guess that there wasn't.

Worth perusing if you're of a mind to grok where our minds were in the 70s.

[Erik Graff]

I am deeply suspicious of this popular test used in personality assessment, but do not feel qualified to judge it. Like the I Ching, it is easy to apply and certainly can be used as a reflective device conducive to illuminating conversation when utilized in a group setting. This application in itself gives such a test and ones like it a certain therapeutic utility. Naturally, it is also something one can use in social settings as a kind of party game as a way to prompt interesting personal discussion.

[Peter Massingham]

This book has proved useful on numerous occasions - not for myself as you cannot keep taking the test yourself due to familiarity of the card meanings, but for others who were intrigued.It is not a party trick and actually contains a warning to that effect within the book. You do not want to give someone negative information if they are feeling depressed. Nor does it offer an account of the individuals long-term personality. Rather, it gives you information on your present state of mind and circumstances. It can be unsettlingly accurate. Very interesting book.

[Emily]

One of the most useful, enlightening, and accurate psychology books I have ever read. Of course I am very touched by color and visual influences in general. I highly recommend this, as its analysis of myself was absolutely DEAD ON and it has helped me analyze and understand the behaviors and motivations of many people around me. Even if one is not into psychology, this is easy to understand (at least I think so) and... well, fun.

[Kelly (Maybedog)]

This would be an interesting book if the colors weren't all so atrocious. the book would probably work better in today's world of color management but as it is, I hate all the colors except black, which I doubt is the right personality for me.

[Sarah]

This was one of my parents' books that I must have "read" a thousand times. You don't really read it, though, just select color cards and supposedly have your every secret revealed. Fun.

[Yoka]

good to read,indeed please to remember

[Karen]

I was facinated by this book in high school. Someone gave me the simplified test, and I felt like they were reading my mind -- all just by picking colors.

Very interesting concept.

[Maureen]

One of my favorite books in the 1970's.

[Afsaneh]

برای آشنایی با معنی و مفهوم رنگ ها در علم روانشناسی و همچنین آشنایی با حالات روحی اشخاص در زمانها و شرایط مختلف کمک بسیاری میکنه .

[Farhood]

بسیار تکنیکی. من که لذت بردم و تجربش کردم. بارها و بارها برای سنینی که کاربرد داره و جواب هر بار تا حد زیادی عینیت داشته.