Wearing red clothes makes men more attractive to women, study finds
Last updated 8/6/2010 8:55:02 AM
Wearing red clothes makes men more attractive to women
Guys wanting to attract the opposite sex should try dressing in red, according to a new study.
Simply wearing the colour red or being bordered by the rosy hue makes a man more attractive and sexually desirable to women, according to a series of studies by researchers at the University of Rochester and other institutions.
Women are unaware of this arousing effect, it seems.The cherry color's charm ultimately lies in its ability to make men appear more powerful, says lead author Andrew Elliot, professor of psychology at the University of Rochester.
"We found that women view men in red as higher in status, more likely to make money and more likely to climb the social ladder," Andrew says. " And it's this high-status judgment that leads to the attraction,"
In human societies across the globe, red traditionally has been part of the regalia of the rich and powerful. Ancient China, Japan and sub-Saharan Africa all used the vibrant tint to convey prosperity and elevated status, and Ancient Rome's most powerful citizens were literally called "the ones who wear red."
Even today, the authors note, businessmen wear a red tie to indicate confidence, and celebrities and dignitaries are feted by "rolling out the red carpet." Along with this learned association between red and status, the authors point to the biological roots of human behaviour.
In non-human primates, like mandrills and gelada baboons, red is an indicator of male dominance and is expressed most intensely in alpha males. Females of these species mate more often with alpha males, who in turn provide protection and resources.
"When women see red it triggers something deep and probably biologically engrained," explains Andrew. "We say in our culture that men act like animals in the sexual realm. It looks like women may be acting like animals as well in the same sort of way."
To quantify the red effect, the paper analysed responses from 288 female and 25 male undergraduates to photographs of men in seven different experiments. Participants were all self-identified as heterosexual or bisexual. In one colour presentation, participants looked at a man's photo framed by a border of either red or white. Other experiments contrasted red with grey, green, or blue. Colours were precisely equated in lightness and intensity so that test results could not be attributed to differences other than hue.