Mood rings first became popular in the 1970s. These rings were designed to change colors based on shifts in the wearer’s body temperature. The idea was that they could reveal a person’s mood or emotional state. Today, various companies sell newer versions of mood rings that claim to work in a similar way. But do they really work? Can a ring actually detect your emotions? Let’s take a closer look at how mood rings are designed to work and evaluate whether they live up to the hype.
How Mood Rings Work
Traditional mood rings contain thermochromic liquid crystals inside the stone or band that are calibrated to change colors at different temperatures. The ring is designed to be in contact with the skin so it can pick up subtle changes in body temperature that occur with shifts in mood or emotions.
For example, when someone is calm or relaxed, their hands and fingers stay cooler. But if they get angry, anxious, or emotionally excited, the blood vessels in their hands will dilate, increasing blood circulation and body heat. Traditional mood rings are intended to reflect these thermal changes through color changes in the liquid crystals.
Color Changes and Meanings
The specific colors and associated meanings vary by brand, but traditional mood rings tend to follow a basic color guide:
| Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Black or brown | Nervous, stressed, anxious |
| Blue | Relaxed, calm |
| Green | Normal, no strong emotions |
| Yellow or amber | Excited, passionate |
| Brown or grey | Sad, depressed |
So in theory, a mood ring can reveal if you are feeling anxious (black) or excited (yellow) simply based on the color it turns on your finger.
Modern mood rings may rely on different advanced technology to achieve color changes rather than liquid crystals, but the basic premise remains the same.
Does Body Temperature Really Reflect Emotions?
The central idea behind traditional mood rings is that changes in emotion trigger changes in body temperature specifically in the hands and fingers. But does the science actually support this?
Research shows there is some truth to the idea that emotions and stress can influence skin temperature, though the effects are complex. For example:
– A 2015 study found skin temperature decreased in response to an experimental stress task. Participants also self-reported higher anxiety when their finger temperature dropped.
– Other studies show increased blood flow and skin temperature in the limbs and extremities during the fight-or-flight response triggered by acute stress.
– Thermal imaging studies reveal decreased finger temperature in people with generalized anxiety disorder compared to healthy controls.
– In people with mood disorders like depression, skin temperature regulation can be disrupted across the whole body.
So while these studies show hints of a relationship between emotion, stress levels, and skin/finger temperature, the connection is not always consistent. The effects likely depend on the specific emotion and the individual.
Accuracy and Limitations
Given the variability in the research, there are clear limitations in using a simple mood ring to monitor emotions:
– The complex link between temperature and emotions means mood rings are an oversimplification. Many factors can influence finger temperature besides just mood.
– Standard color calibration may not work for everyone’s unique body temperature patterns.
– Sudden brief emotions won’t be registered quickly enough. It takes time for the skin to heat or cool noticeably.
– External factors like ambient temperature, weather, clothing, and activity can also impact skin temperature, skewing the mood reading.
– Different emotions don’t always have distinct thermal signatures. Anger and joy might both show up as “excited” yellow.
– Mood rings can’t detect complex emotions and are limited to basic pre-defined categories. Real moods are more nuanced.
While mood rings may reflect some emotion-related temperature changes, the simplistic color approach means they cannot provide accurate insight into your actual emotional state. At best, they reveal very general thermal patterns.
Do “Mood” Rings Have Any Scientific Value?
Given these limitations, mainstream scientists consider traditional mood rings to be little more than entertaining novelties with no genuine scientific value for monitoring emotions.
However, more sophisticated wearable biosensors that monitor subtle skin temperature changes are an area of active research. These systems use much more precise thermal measurement rather than crude color changes.
Potential applications could include:
– Enabling people with alexithymia (difficulty identifying emotions) to better recognize their internal states.
– Helping detect and manage psychological conditions like stress, anxiety, and depression.
– Improving focus and emotional regulation through biofeedback.
So while simple mood rings have no real diagnostic purpose, skin temperature still holds scientific promise as a biomarker when measured with precision.
My Experience With a Mood Changing Ring
To get firsthand experience with a modern take on mood rings, I purchased a popular model online to test it out. Here is what I discovered over two weeks of wearing it:
– The ambient temperature affects the ring more than my mood. On a cold day, it stayed purple and blue. On a hot day, it shifted yellow and orange.
– The color changes lagged behind my felt emotions by several minutes at least. It could not register brief emotional spikes.
– Strong emotions like excitement or anger made the ring turn yellow or amber, but calm and relaxed emotions failed to produce a noticeably bluer color.
– The ring often got “stuck” on a color until I took it off and put it back on, regardless of my mood.
| Observation | Rating |
|---|---|
| Comfort | ★★★☆☆ |
| Ease of Use | ★★★☆☆ |
| Accuracy | ★☆☆☆☆ |
Overall, my experience suggests modern mood rings remain a novelty rather than an accurate emotion tracking system. The premise is fun, but the simplification is too crude to genuinely detect changes in mood or feeling. For $25, it may provide entertainment, but nothing more.
Conclusion
While mood rings have evolved from the classic 1970s version, the basic concept remains fundamentally limited. The many factors influencing skin temperature mean rings cannot provide accurate insight into emotions based on color changes alone. They may reflect general states like stress or excitement, but cannot differentiate nuanced moods. While body temperature can correlate with emotions, mood rings are far too simplistic to serve as scientific biosensors. However, more sophisticated wearable monitors that precisely track subtle skin temperature changes hold promise for applications like mental health treatment in the future. But until then, mood rings are best appreciated as amusing jewelry rather than mood detectors. If you want to try one, do it for fun, not for psychological insight.