Max Lüscher

Max Lüscher (born 9 September 1923, Basel, Switzerland) is a Swiss psychotherapist. He's known for inventing the Lüscher color test, a tool for measuring the person's psychophysical state based on his or her color preferences. Besides research, teaching and practicing psychotherapy in Basel, Lüscher worked for international companies, amongst other things giving color advice. His book "The Lüscher Test" has been translated into more than 30 languages.

After passing Swiss matriculation examination Max Lüscher studied philosophy and psychology. He finished with summa cum laude for his doctoral thesis "Color as an aid in psychological diagnosis". From this base, during the course of his work as a therapist, Lüscher developed his first test for assessing (or at least estimating) the human personality by the means of certain color cards. From 1961 until 1965, Lüscher worked as a teacher and professor in Basel and Berlin. Currently he is living in Lucerne where he runs his "Institute for Medical Psychological Diagnosis". The area of prime importance to the Lüscher research is the effect of colors on humans with regard to the psychological social aspects as well as the psychology of colors and advice for industry and firms. Lüscher is internationally known through his guest lectures and seminars.

From 1959 to 1967 Max Lüscher was married to the Swiss artist Ingeborg Lüscher.

The test colors from the Lüscher Color-Diagnosis are selected according to the same category. Luscher argues that the subject's choice of color shows the state of their psychosomatic and emotional status and how they feel about themselves. It is further one of many well known test-diagnostic proceedings by testing children on the area of educational psychology.

Lüscher relates to his four fundamental colors to the following fundamental categories:

• Blue: Contentment

Feeling of belonging, the inner connection and the relationship to one’s partner.

"How I feel towards a person that is close to me"

• Green: Self-respect

Inner control of willpower and the capacity to enjoy.

"The way I want to be"

• Red: Self confidence

Activity, drive and the reaction to challenges.

"How I react to challenges"

• Yellow: Development

Attitude of anticipation, attitude towards future development and towards new encounters.

"What I expect for the future"

A 1984 comparison of the Lüscher color test and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory found little agreement between the two tests, prompting the authors to urge cautious use of the former.