ROCHESTER, NY — Bulls aren’t the only ones that get excited when they see red. According to a new study, the sight of a woman wearing red inspires amorous emotions not merely in Chris De Burgh by most men in the viewing public. Red has long been the color of passion and life, with the ancient Romans decking their brides out in the fertile shade and ancient Mediterranean and European pagans painting eggs in the symbolic color of spring birth, rebirth and abundance.
Psychologists at the University of Rochester indulged their carnal curiosity in five experiments designed to test men’s reactions to women based upon their responses to various colors.
After being asked a series of questions, including “How pretty do you think this person is?” participants in the study viewed a photograph of a woman in either a red or white border.
Other experiments compared red with gray, green or blue and depicted a woman wearing a digitally altered shirt in either red or blue. In the latter case, men not only were asked about their attraction to the woman in the photo, but also how they would plan a date with her if they had $100 to spend.
Women associated with the color red consistently found their hypothetical dates far more generous than when they were associated with other colors.
Researcher Andrew Elliot commented to LiveScience.com that “It’s fascinating to find that something as ubiquitous as color can be having an effect on our behavior without our awareness.”
Elliot and co-author Daniela Niesta’s findings appeared in the October 28th Web edition of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. It is believed that the study is the first of its kind to scientifically investigate the effect of color upon erotic behavior.
The duo conjectures that the results they observed relate to societal conditioning – although they admit that non-human male primates also respond favorably to females displaying red.
Interestingly enough, although men indicated a sexual preference for women associated with the color red, they did not show any influence in how they rated women in regards to intelligence, likeability or kindness.
