Does Wearing Red make you more Appealing to the Opposite Sex?
An excerpt from Psychology Today
It is well known that people stereotype others based on their skin color, but did you know that people also stereotype colors themselves? The best example of this is the long-held association that black is bad and white is good.
Just watch an old Western movie and you can immediately tell who the good guys and bad guys are by the color of their cowboy hats. This example shows that colors contribute more than just aesthetics. Colors also carry specific meanings, such as good or bad that likely have important influences on psychological functioning. Andrew Elliot and Daniela Niesta extended this idea of color stereotypes to the study of sexual attraction (Elliot & Niesta, 2008). Specifically, they were interested if certain colors were more likely to be associated with sex appeal, and if so, would wearing them make people more attractive to the opposite sex. So when you think about sexiness, what color first comes to mind? If you are like most Americans, you thought of the color red. Red means different things to different cultures [...] in American culture, red often means sex. [...] If red is typically associated with sex, then does wearing red make a woman sexier? [...] Clearly Hollywood thinks red makes women sexy but does the empirical research support this assumption?
To test this idea, Elliot and Niesta showed men a photograph of a moderately attractive woman and asked them to rate her attractiveness. For some, the woman in the photo was wearing a red shirt. For others, the same woman was wearing a blue shirt. The results showed that men rated the woman in red as more attractive and more sexually desirable than the same woman in blue. [...] Interestingly, when these men were asked if the color of her shirt or background had an influence on their attraction, none reported that it did.
This indicates that color influences our judgments in an automatic and primarily nonconscious manner. These studies provided empirical evidence that the "lady in red" is a sexually appealing image for men. But what about what women like?
Are women just as intrigued by a gentleman in red? Unlike the image of a woman in red, there are few references in pop culture of a man dressed in red. [...] But red is a versatile color. It doesn't just represent sex and lust; it also is used to represent power and prestige. [...] A quick look around will tell you that this association between red and power seems to have continued into the present-day: The "red carpet" is only rolled out during special events (e.g., Oscars), and only the most prestigious individuals are allowed to walk on it. [...] And the stereotypic image of a successful, powerful man is one who drives a red sports car.
To examine if red makes men seem more powerful, and therefore more desirable to women, Elliot and colleagues conducted another series of studies [...]. Women from four different countries [...] viewed photos of male targets. In some of the studies, the man in the photo wore a shirt that was red or another hue; in other studies, the man was pictured against a red or alternatively colored background. Across seven studies, women were more likely to find the man attractive and sexually appealing when he was associated with the color red. More importantly, the results showed that this effect of red on attraction was mediated by increased perceptions of status.
That is, men associated with red were rated as higher in status, and it was this increase in perceived status that appealed to women.
Taken together, the results of these studies imply some practical dating advice:
Next time you are getting ready for a date, consider injecting some red into your wardrobe. If a red dress or red shirt is too loud for your taste, then try adding just a touch of red. If you are a woman, consider red jewelry or red high heel shoes (or the recently popular black heels with a red sole). If you are a man, consider a red tie or red handkerchief. [...]
This indicates that color influences our judgments in an automatic and primarily nonconscious manner. These studies provided empirical evidence that the "lady in red" is a sexually appealing image for men. But what about what women like?
Are women just as intrigued by a gentleman in red? Unlike the image of a woman in red, there are few references in pop culture of a man dressed in red. [...] But red is a versatile color. It doesn't just represent sex and lust; it also is used to represent power and prestige. [...] A quick look around will tell you that this association between red and power seems to have continued into the present-day: The "red carpet" is only rolled out during special events (e.g., Oscars), and only the most prestigious individuals are allowed to walk on it. [...] And the stereotypic image of a successful, powerful man is one who drives a red sports car.
To examine if red makes men seem more powerful, and therefore more desirable to women, Elliot and colleagues conducted another series of studies [...]. Women from four different countries [...] viewed photos of male targets. In some of the studies, the man in the photo wore a shirt that was red or another hue; in other studies, the man was pictured against a red or alternatively colored background. Across seven studies, women were more likely to find the man attractive and sexually appealing when he was associated with the color red. More importantly, the results showed that this effect of red on attraction was mediated by increased perceptions of status.
That is, men associated with red were rated as higher in status, and it was this increase in perceived status that appealed to women.
Taken together, the results of these studies imply some practical dating advice:
Next time you are getting ready for a date, consider injecting some red into your wardrobe. If a red dress or red shirt is too loud for your taste, then try adding just a touch of red. If you are a woman, consider red jewelry or red high heel shoes (or the recently popular black heels with a red sole). If you are a man, consider a red tie or red handkerchief. [...]
