Women attracted to men wearing red
Wayne Rooney in the England jersey. Now we know why his wife Coleen fell for him.
A new study headed by researchers at the University of Rochester finds that women are attracted to men wearing the color red.
Even though women are unaware of the effect, the study shows there is a marked increases in men's attractiveness, status, and sexual desirability when women view men wearing or bordered in red.
The study was headed by Andrew Elliot; lead author and professor of psychology at the University of Rochester.
The study is based on the responses of 288 female and 25 male undergraduates in a series of experiments asking the participants to rate the attractiveness, sexual desirability, status, likability, kindness, and other attributes of men pictured in different colored t-shirts and photo frames.
The study found that only women viewing men were affected by color and men viewing men were unaffected.
They also found that the color red only affected men's attractiveness and status but not other traits.
The color red made men more attractive, more powerful, and more sexually appealing, but did not make them seem more likable or kind.
The study was published on August 2 in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
As for some of the reasoning behind why red affects women, Elliot says, "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. And it's this high-status judgment that leads to the attraction."
Red has been the color of power and status in many cultures and is likely to be deeply biologically ingrained.
As for how color affects men's attraction to women; in an earlier study published in 2008 Elliot found that men were more attracted to women wearing red. The reasoning behind this is also believed to be biologically ingrained.
Source: examiner.com
Published August 5 2010
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