麻豆传媒

Effect Replicated Across Cultures, New Research Finds

News — It鈥檚 a symbol of courage and sacrifice, of sin and sexuality, of power and passion 鈥� and now new research demonstrates that the color red makes men more alluring to women.

In the United States, England, Germany and China, women found men more appealing when they were either pictured wearing red or framed in red, compared with other colors. The finding is reported in the August issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, published by the American Psychological Association.

鈥淩ed is typically thought of as a sexy color for women only,鈥� said Andrew Elliot, PhD, of the University of Rochester and University of Munich. 鈥淥ur findings suggest that the link between red and sex also applies to men.鈥�

Twenty-five men and 32 women briefly viewed a black-and-white photo of a Caucasian man in a polo shirt, surrounded by a red or white matte. Using a nine-point scale, they answered three questions: 鈥淗ow attractive do you think this person is?鈥� 鈥淗ow pleasant is this person to look at?鈥� and 鈥淚f I were to meet the person in this picture face to face, I would think he is attractive.鈥�

Red warmed up women only. Women who looked at a man surrounded by red or white rated the man surrounded by red a little over one point higher on a nine-point scale of attractiveness, a statistically significant bump.

Another experiment featured a man in a color photo, dressed in either a red or a green shirt. A pool of 55 women rated the man in red as significantly more attractive -- on average, nearly one point higher on the same nine-point scale. They also thought he was more desirable, according to a second, five-item measure that asked viewers to rate, for example, the likelihood that they鈥檇 want to have sex with him.

Although red means different things in different cultures, the finding of women (but not men) drawn to men in red was consistent across countries.

And it鈥檚 true about red power ties: Women in a follow-up study perceived men wearing red T-shirts to be significantly more likely to be high in status than men wearing blue T-shirts, in addition to the men in red seeming more generally and sexually attractive. Five smaller studies (20-38 participants) comparing women鈥檚 responses to men in red or gray, including their sense of the men鈥檚 status, established a chain of evidence that red may enhance sexual attractiveness because red is a status symbol, according to the authors.

The power of red holds throughout the primate world. Female primates (including women) are 鈥渆xtremely adept at detecting and decoding blood flow changes in the face,鈥� the authors wrote, 鈥渁nd women have been shown to be more sensitive to the perception of red stimuli than are men.鈥�

Are men aware that red may work in the bedroom as well as the boardroom? The authors suggest red might make men more likely to strut their stuff. 鈥淎 man who wears red may feel dominant,鈥� they added, 鈥渨hich influences his self-confidence and behavior and in turn may impress women.鈥�

Article: 鈥淩ed, Rank, and Romance in Women Viewing Men,鈥� Andrew J. Elliot, PhD, University of Rochester and University of Munich; Daniela Niesta Kayser, PhD, University of Rochester; Tobias G. Greitemeyer, PhD, University of Innsbruck; Stephanie Lichtenfield, PhD, University of Munich; Richard H. Gramzow, PhD, University of Southampton; Markus A. Maier, PhD, University of Munich; Huijun Liu, PhD, Tianjin Medical University; Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Vol. 139, No. 3.

(Full text of the article is available from the APA Public Affairs Office and at )

The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world鈥檚 largest association of psychologists. APA鈥檚 membership includes more than 152,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare.