Red makes men behave “like animals”

By Will Parker on October 31, 2008 in News

A new study by two University of Rochester psychologists adds color – literally and figuratively – to the age-old question of what attracts men to women. Through five experiments, Andrew Elliot and Daniela Niesta demonstrate that the color red makes men feel more amorous toward women. Most surprisingly, men are unaware of the role the color plays in their attraction.

Appearing in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the research provides the first empirical support for society’s enduring love affair with red. From red-light districts to red hearts on Valentine’s Day, red has been tied to carnal passions and romantic love across cultures and millennia. But this study, said Elliot, is the only work to scientifically document the effects of color on behavior in the context of relationships.

“It’s only recently that psychologists and researchers in other disciplines have been looking closely and systematically at the relationship between color and behavior. Much is known about color physics and color physiology, but very little about color psychology,” said Elliot. “It’s fascinating to find that something as ubiquitous as color can be having an effect on our behavior without our awareness.”

Although this aphrodisiacal effect of red may be a product of societal conditioning alone, the authors argue that men’s response to red more likely stems from deeper biological roots. Research has shown that nonhuman male primates are particularly attracted to females displaying red. Female baboons and chimpanzees, for example, redden conspicuously when nearing ovulation, sending a clear sexual signal designed to attract males.

“Our research demonstrates a parallel in the way that human and nonhuman male primates respond to red,” say the researchers. “In doing so, our findings confirm what many women have long suspected and claimed – that men act like animals in the sexual realm. As much as men might like to think that they respond to women in a thoughtful, sophisticated manner, it appears that at least to some degree, their preferences and predilections are, in a word, primitive.”

To quantify the red effect, the study looked at men’s responses to photographs of women under a variety of color presentations. In one experiment, test subjects looked at a woman’s photo framed by a border of either red or white and answered a series of questions, such as: “How pretty do you think this person is?”

When using chromatic colors like green and blue, the colors were precisely equated in saturation and brightness levels, explained Niesta, so that the “test results could not be attributed to differences other than hue.”

In the final study, the shirt of the woman in the photograph, instead of the background, was digitally colored red or blue. In this experiment, men were queried not only about their attraction to the woman, but their intentions regarding dating. One question asked: “Imagine that you are going on a date with this person and have $100 in your wallet. How much money would you be willing to spend on your date?”

Under all of the conditions, the women shown framed by or wearing red were rated significantly more attractive and sexually desirable by men than the exact same women shown with other colors. The red effect extends only to males and only to perceptions of attractiveness. Red did not increase attractiveness ratings for females rating other females and red did not change how men rated the women in the photographs in terms of likeability, intelligence or kindness.

Although red enhances positive feelings in this study, earlier research suggests the meaning of a color depends on its context. For example, seeing red in competition situations, such as written examinations or sporting events, leads to worse performance. The current findings have clear implications for the dating game, the fashion industry, product design and marketing, say the researchers.