Social and emotional learning through color

Abstract

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is a comprehensive process that enables individuals to cultivate essential competencies, such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. However, the learning associated with SEL can also be unconsciously transmitted through visual culture, particularly the use of color in classic stories and narratives. The project on color and social learning aims to investigate how color in images conveys ideas that contribute to this implicit social learning, even when the illustrator or viewer may not be consciously aware of this process. The methodology involves a systematic analysis of visual and written data, using the Zero tools from Harvard to understand the symbolic systems that convey information through art and visual experiences. Illustration color has acquired social significance over time, allowing intangible semantic values to be transmitted through the image. When the viewer decodes the image, they acquire information related to various contexts, such as social, political, religious, or cultural, which is intrinsically linked to intertextual relationships that generate an understanding of the message.