Millennial Pink Has a Surprising Super Power

Originally published on May 2nd, 2017.

As it turns out, millennial pink — that soft, bubble gum hue everyone is freaking out over — may have more of a purpose than making your work accessories and accent walls look really, really good.

A study from 1982 digging into the effects different colors have on upset children cited bubble gum pink as the hue that could take kids from kicking and screaming to silently snoozing in as little as 10 minutes. In an interview with The New York Times in October 1982, clinical psychologist Paul E. Boccumini shared a few words on the discovery: "We used to have to literally sit on them," he said. "Now we put them in the pink room. It works.''

The children Boccumini was working with were under detention at the San Bernardino County Probation Department, and were all prone to violence. To test the color, the children were placed in an 8-foot by 4-foot cell painted pink once they began to experience an angry fit. According to Boccumini, they began to relax shortly after entering the pink rooms.

Some doctors call this color "passive pink" because of its calming nature. The idea that color can help bring out certain moods or characteristics is no new idea — it dates back much further than this 1982 study. But it is interesting to think about this in a time when millennial pink is getting 3,000-word essays (thank you, New York Mag) and more accessories, hair colors, stationary, and even entire restaurants are jumping on the pink palette bandwagon.

So, you see, you may have thought you were onto something new, but it's likely more than the trendiness of the color that's appealing to your brain.

If you want to know more about the way color affects your brain and mood, check out the full New York Times article, and prepare to impress your friends with your psychology knowledge.