No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Color and Women Attractiveness: When Red Clothed Women Are Perceived to Have More Intense Sexual Intent
The Journal of Social Psychology
Abstract
Research has shown that with some nonhuman primates, red is associated with greater sexual attractiveness of females, and recent studies found that a woman with red clothes increases attraction behavior in men. However, the mechanism that explains such behavior was not studied. In this experiment, we hypothesized that men overestimated women's sexual intent when wearing red clothing. Participants evaluated attractiveness and the sexual intent of a woman presented in a photograph wearing a red, a blue, a green or a white tee-shirt. It was found that men evaluated higher sexual intent in the red clothing condition. It was also found that perception of the woman's sexual intent was not moderated by attractiveness rating.
... Several studies from America, Europe, and a relatively isolated community in Burkina Faso, have presented a potential cross-cultural congruity in a red's romance-relevant effect in which a woman paired with a red background was perceived as more attractive by men compared to the same woman paired with contrasting colors. 10,11,14,21,25,26,29 Furthermore, research has suggested that the red effect can be extended to the behaviors of men, including being more likely to offer women hitchhikers in red a ride 13 and to contact the females who wear red in their dating profile pictures. 15 Several studies have attempted to account for the salience of red in affiliation contexts. ...
... Researchers' preferred explanation is that the perceived sexual receptivity mediates the red-attraction link for men viewing women. 14,21 This association between red and sexual receptivity may stem from the joint action of both societal conditioning and biological considerations. In terms of conditioning, red has a long history of being societally paired with female sexuality (e.g., red-light districts, lingerie, and cosmetics). ...
... As a matter of fact, various studies have demonstrated that people dressed in contrasting colors received comparable or even higher attractiveness ratings than in red. 14,16,26 Among the alternative colors, two achromatic colors, white and black, have drawn much attention. Peperkoorn et al. 23 revisited the red effect on attractiveness by differentiating between temporal conditions (short-term vs. long-term mating) and hypothesized that women wearing white would be perceived as more attractive by men seeking a long-term partner, given that white symbolizes purity and chastity. ...
The present study investigated whether the clothing color of female stimuli and the perceived attractiveness judgments of Caucasian and Chinese male observers for own-and other-ethnicity are correlated. Results indicate that Caucasian observers evaluated stimuli in white and black as the most attractive while giving low ratings for stimuli in orange, yellow, or lime. Results for the Chinese observers were found to depend on the stimulus type, whereby the Caucasian stimulus received significantly lower ratings when dressed in lime, and the Chinese stimulus was rated as the least attractive when in lime, orange, green, or cyan. White was found to have a positive effect on Chinese observers' ratings for both stimuli. A comparison of the general versus the facial attractiveness lends some evidence that red enhanced Caucasian observers' attraction to the Chinese stimulus while findings fail to support the general red-effect. We propose a potential mechanism underlying the color-attraction associations. K E Y W O R D S clothing color, cross-ethnic attraction, perceived attractiveness, red effect
... According to the color-in-context theory, biologically based predispositions are deemed responsible for the appetitive meaning of the color red, as is visible in the example that nonhuman primates use red as indicator of fertility (Elliot & Maier, 2007;2012;Elliot & Niesta, 2008). Previous studies support the notion of biological parallels between nonhumans and humans, as they revealed a link between red color, attractiveness judgment, and perceived sexual receptivity (Pazda, Elliot, & Greitemeyer, 2012). ...
... Moreover, there is recent research on female participants indicating that women are (at least unconsciously) aware of the link between red and fertility; it was found that female participants were more inclined to wear red clothes at the peak of their fertility (Beall & Tracy, 2013). Several further experiments have corroborated the reasoning that there is a positive effect of red on attractiveness judgments, which is caused by sexual receptivity expectations (Elliot, Greitemeyer, & Pazda, 2013;Guéguen 2012;Niesta Kayser, Elliot, & Feltman, 2010;Pazda et al. 2014;Young 2015). In accordance with these findings on red and the perceived attractiveness of others, we now propose that sexual receptivity also functions as mediator regarding the red effect on selfattractiveness. ...
... In Experiment 3, we examined the processes underlying the self-perception red effect. Previous findings demonstrated that male participants associated female targets wearing a red shirt with higher sexual receptivity resulting in higher attractiveness ratings ; see also Guéguen, 2012). Regarding male targets, Elliot et al. (2010) showed that female participants perceived men with a red shirt as high in status and therefore rated these male targets as more attractive (see also Stephen et al., 2012). ...
Recent research showed that individuals are perceived as more attractive when presented with the color red. We seek to extend these findings by studying the effects of red color on individuals' perception of self-attractiveness, rather than the attractiveness of others. Based on the color-in-context theory, we hypothesized that individuals would perceive themselves as more attractive under red chromatic conditions. In three experiments, participants were asked to wear a red or a blue shirt and rated their own attractiveness. As expected, participants in the red shirt condition indicated a higher level of self-attractiveness than participants in the blue condition. Moreover, the results showed that the self-perception red effect was mediated by the individuals' self-perceived sexual receptivity and self-perceived status.
... Women in red clothes may feel more desirable and consequently behave differently than women wearing other colors, underlining the importance of distinguishing perceiver from wearer effects when investigating the red effect. Guéguen (2012b), presented a photograph of a young woman in a red, white, blue, or green shirt. Higher attractiveness scores were obtained for the woman in a red shirt compared to the same woman in green or blue shirts. ...
... In another field study, men were found to give waitresses higher tips when they were dressed in red compared to other colors (Guéguen & Jacob, 2014). Relating to the signaling function of red, it appears the red-attraction link is mediated by sexual receptivity, where women choosing to present themselves in red clothing are regarded to be sexually receptive and have more sexual intent than women in white, green, or blue clothing (Guéguen, 2012b;Pazda, Elliot, & Greitemeyer, 2012). However, whereas Pazda, Elliot, and Greitemeyer (2014) found higher sexual receptivity ratings for a woman in red versus the same woman in white, ratings for red, and black did not differ significantly. ...
... In addition, higher sexual attractiveness ratings have been found in a study manipulating shirt color using blue (Elliot & Niesta, 2008, Study 5) or green Study 2) as a contrast color. In addition, studies investigating sexual receptivity (Guéguen, 2012b;Pazda et al., 2012, Study 1;Pazda et al., 2014) found women in red clothing to be more sexually receptive compared to women in white clothing. These studies hint at the possibility that women in red clothing would be evaluated as more sexually attractive as compared to women in white clothing; however, we do not find support for such a prediction. ...
Color-in-context theory is the first theoretical framework for understanding color effects in human mate preferences, arguing that red clothing enhances attractiveness ratings. Here we present three empirical studies failing to support this prediction. We aimed to extend the current literature by differentiating color effects by temporal context (short-term vs. long-term mating). Experiment 1 involved Dutch participants rating a woman in red, white, and black on (sexual) attractiveness. Experiment 2 replicated the first experiment with an American sample. In the final experiment, we aimed to replicate a study that did find evidence of a red effect, using a substantially larger sample size. The results from each of the three studies (totaling N = 830 men) fail to support the red effect. We discuss the implications of our results and avenues for future research on red effects and attractiveness.
... Buss und Schmitt (1993) (Elliot & Niesta, 2008). Der erhöhende Effekt von Rot auf die wahrgenommene Attraktivität und der sexuellen Attraktion wird über die Wahrnehmung einer höheren sexuellen Bereitschaft vermittelt (Pazda, Elliot, & Greitemeyer, 2012;Guéguen, 2012). So wirken Frauen in Rot sexuell zu-gänglicher, was sie in den Augen der heterosexuellen Männer attraktiver und begehrenswerter macht. ...
... Doch trotz des gleichartigen Effekts, scheinen sich die dahinterliegenden Prozesse zwischen den Geschlechtern zu unterscheiden. Während Rot die wahrgenommene sexuelle Bereitschaft und Fertilität der Frau besonders betont Guéguen, 2012), wirkt es sich bei dem Mann auf die Einschätzung des sozialen Status aus . Aus Sicht des jeweils anderen heterosexuellen Geschlechts scheinen gerade dies die ausschlaggebenden Faktoren zu sein, diese Person als attraktiver und im Fall einer weiblichen Person auch als sexuell begehrenswerter einzuschätzen. ...
... Hier sind für nachfolgende Studien die Hintergrundprozesse interessant. Auf Seiten ihrer heterosexuellen Mitmenschen gilt bei der Bewertung der Frau die sexuelle Zugänglichkeit Guéguen, 2012), bei der Bewertung des Mannes der Status als vermittelndes Glied. Weiterhin wären laborexperimentelle Untersuchungen notwendig, um in einem standardisierten Setting den Farbeinfluss auf die interpersonelle Wahrnehmung homosexueller Personen zu überprüfen. ...
Fabian Kirsch geht im Rahmen von zwei experimentellen Studien der Frage nach, wie sich das Tragen roter Kleidung und Kleidung in der persönlichen Präferenzfarbe des Betrachters/der Betrachterin auf die Wahrnehmung verschiedener Personenaspekte, insbesondere auf die physische Attraktivität, auswirkt. Weiterhin gibt der Autor einen Überblick über die aktuelle Attraktivitäts- sowie farbpsychologische Forschung und diskutiert methodische Besonderheiten im Schnittpunkt dieser beiden Forschungszweige. Für die individuelle Farbpräferenz zeigte sich ein positiver Zusammenhang zur Attraktivitätswahrnehmung. Die spezifische Wirkung der Farbe Rot hängt von dem Geschlecht der Versuchsperson, deren sexueller Orientierung und dem Geschlecht der betrachteten Zielperson ab.
... Various factors seem to influence men's perceptions of women's sexual intent, including her having tattoos (Guéguen, 2013;Swami and Furnham, 2007), drinking alcohol (Abbey and Harnish, 1995;Garcia and Kushnier, 1987;Livingston et al, 2022;Rerick et al, 2020), and wearing red (Guéguen, 2012b;Prokop and Pazda, 2016). This study examined the extent to which women's physical attractiveness can affect men's perceptions of sexual intent. ...
... This interpretation also explains why the attractiveness manipulation significantly affected men's sexual arousal when they were imagining the attractive woman performing these behaviors toward them, but not another man. Previous research has indicated that various factors like wearing red (Guéguen, 2012b), consuming or being in the presence of alcohol (Abbey and Harnish, 1995), wearing revealing clothing (Abbey et al, 1987;Wade et al, 2021), and wearing makeup (Cash et al, 1989;Cloud and Perilloux, 2022) simultaneously increase a woman's perceived attractiveness and her sexual availability. This study demonstrates that a woman's attractiveness alone might be enough to increase men's perception of sexual intent in her behaviors, even in the absence of all other known sexual signals. ...
... Empirical research supports the existence of a psychological link between the color red and attraction. When red appears on the face, apparel, or in the background of a target, that person is rated by members of the opposite sex as more attractive than opposite-sex faces presented with other color cues (Buechner, Maier, Lichtenfeld, & Elliot, 2015;Elliot & Niesta, 2008;Elliot et al., 2010;Elliot, Tracy, Pazda, & Beall, 2013;Guéguen, 2012a;Jung, Kim, & Han, 2011;Lin, 2014;Pazda, Elliot, & Greitemeyer, 2012, 2014Roberts, Owen, & Havlicek, 2010;cf. Elliot & Maier, 2013;Hesslinger, Goldbach, & Carbon, 2015;Lynn, Giebelhausen, Garcia, Li, & Patumanon, 2013;Seibt, 2015; see also Francis, 2013). ...
... This experiment explored three novel phenomena regarding the nature of red-attraction effects: the effect of prior color exposure, the effect of color-face pairing on ratings made after a delay, and the impact of objective awareness of color-face pairing. Each of these represents a novel extension to the basic red-attraction effect reported elsewhere (Buechner et al., 2015;Elliot & Niesta, 2008;Elliot et al., 2010;2013;Guéguen, 2012a;Jung et al., 2011;Lin, 2014;Pazda et al., 2012Pazda et al., , 2014Roberts et al., 2010;cf. Elliot & Maier, 2013;Hesslinger et al., 2015;Lynn et al., 2013;Seibt, 2015; see also Francis, 2013). ...
The red-attraction effect refers to the finding that the color red enhances attractiveness ratings of targets, and is most robustly observed when males rate females. Three previously unexplored aspects of color-attraction effects were tested in a single experiment with a large sample size (N = 778). The effect of exposure to a color and the impact of pairing a color with a target were disentangled using a novel design. Moreover, we tested the proposition that color exerts its effects outside of awareness by examining the association of conscious awareness of color-target pairing with the red-attraction effect. Both prior exposure to red and pairing of red with a target influenced attractiveness ratings, but not always in the direction of increased attractiveness. Results also varied as a function of target and participant sex. However, when conscious awareness of target-color pairing was higher, results converged with the typically-observed red-attraction effect among males rating females.
... Wearing clothing of a certain color may also be integrated into courtship behaviors used by women to attract mates. Several studies report that wearing the color red increases women's attractiveness to men (Elliot and Niesta, 2008;Elliot et al., 2013;Guéguen, 2012;Young, 2015) and is preferred by women in courtship situations (Elliot et al., 2013;Prokop and Hromada, 2013). Some studies further report that wearing red increases alongside women's likelihood of conception throughout the menstrual cycle (Beall and Tracy, 2013;Tracy and Beall, 2014; but c.f. Prokop and Hromada, 2013). ...
... Past research suggests that women wear red clothing to signal sexual proceptivity and enhance their attractiveness (Elliot and Niesta, 2008;Elliot et al., 2013;Elliot et al., 2013;Prokop and Hromada, 2013;Guéguen, 2012;Young, 2015). Signaling proceptivity or enhancing attractiveness are just two of many possible reasons for women's clothing color choices. ...
Several studies report that wearing red clothing enhances women's attractiveness and signals sexual proceptivity to men. The associated hypothesis that women will choose to wear red clothing when fertility is highest, however, has received mixed support from empirical studies. One possible cause of these mixed findings may be methodological. The current study aimed to replicate recent findings suggesting a positive association between hormonal profiles associated with high fertility (high estradiol to progesterone ratios) and the likelihood of wearing red. We compared the effect of the estradiol to progesterone ratio on the probability of wearing: red versus non-red (binary logistic regression); red versus neutral, black, blue, green, yellow, multi-color, and gray (multinomial logistic regression); and each of these same colors in separate binary models (e.g., green versus non-green). Red versus non-red analyses showed a positive trend between a high estradiol to progesterone ratio and wearing red, but the effect only arose for younger women and was not robust across samples. We found no compelling evidence for ovarian hormones increasing the probability of wearing red in the other analyses. However, we did find that the probability of wearing neutral was positively associated with the estradiol to progesterone ratio, though the effect did not reach conventional levels of statistical significance. Findings suggest that although ovarian hormones may affect younger women's preference for red clothing under some conditions, the effect is not robust when differentiating amongst other colors of clothing. In addition, the effect of ovarian hormones on clothing color preference may not be specific to the color red.
... In addition to specific styles of dress, researchers have been interested in dress colour as a sexual cue. [18] showed male business students a single photo of a young female athlete wearing a t-shirt. Compared to when the female athlete wore blue, green, or white, men rated female athlete wearing red as more attractive and as having more sexual intent. ...
This study was designed to determine the Prevalence and Determinants of Sexual Harassment Among Athletes in South-South States Sports Council in Nigeria. Two specific objectives, two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted descriptive survey design. The population for the study comprised of 1,647 male and 1,274 female athletes. They give a total of 2,921 sports athletes in South-South Sports Council which spread across the six states. The sample size of the study consisted of 336 male and 262 female athletes giving a total of 598 representing 20% of athletes from each of the state Sport Council. Instrument titled “Victims Attitude and Isolation as a determinant of Sexual Harassment of Athletes Questionnaire (VAIDSHAQ)” was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by three research experts, all from the University of Uyo. Instrument was trial tested on 20 athletes who were not part of the research sample. Cronbach Alpha Reliability Statistics and reliability co-efficient of 0.98 was obtained. The data was analysed using simple regression to answer research questionswhile the hypothesis was tested using F-ratio in simple linear regressionat .05 levels of significance. The prevalence of victim attitudes and isolations from sexual partners are determined of sexual harassments among athletes. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended among measures that individuals with records of sexual abuse should not be admitted into the sport council in order to avoid repetition of such act. Also, that victims of sexual harassment who refuse to report the incidence should be sanctioned by the sport council when noticed.
... Previous research on the topic of clothing and subjective experiences has primarily focused on the effect of clothing on others, rather than on the self. For example, several studies have examined the extent to which men are attracted to women wearing a red dress (Elliot et al., 2013, Fleetwood-Smith et al., 2019, Guéguen, 2012. There have only been a few studies that have focused on the impact of clothing on the wearer, and those that did had an emphasis on experienced sexuality and attractiveness (Berthold et al., 2017). ...
... It was stated in the study of Bloch et al. (1994), that tangible environment influencing consumer's emotional states, which affect the consumer behavioral responses (approach behavior). Another study conducted by Guéguen (2012) and showed that a pleasant ambiance has the ability to activate a positive mood which in turn makes customers pleased and increases their intentions for repatronage in the future. Moreover, past studies considered mood as one of the moderating variables between customer behavior and the atmosphere of the business industry (Lucia-Palacios et al., 2016). ...
The aim of this study is to highlight the importance of retailscapes and their elements and how these elements can enhance customer patronage. The study, therefore, considered customer mood as moderating between retailscapes and customer joy that further leads to customer patronage. Past studies considered some retailscapes elements in a different context such as pure services industries. In contrast, this study considered the retail industry. In order to obtain study findings, a convenient sampling technique was used to collect data from targeted respondents. Respondents were the visitors of different retail stores. Since the study was limited to a single city, therefore data were collected in the capital city Riyadh of Saudi Arabia. 300 questionnaires were distributed among the customers, 289 responses were valid and the rest were discarded due to incomplete information. Collected data were analyzed using Smart-PLS and SPSS. Considered hypotheses were tested and found a significant relationship. Results clearly indicating that retailscapes have the ability to influence customer’s patronage by considering retailscape elements in the retail industry.
... Some of this information is derived from the interaction partner or target. For instance, men perceive higher sexual interest from women who are more attractive (Treat et al., 2016), dress in red rather than green, white, or blue (Guéguen, 2012;Pazda et al., 2012), or wear clothing that reveals more skin (Guéguen, 2011). Another source of information stems from the perceiver. ...
The current research examined the roles of positional power induced by one’s hierarchical position in an organization and dispositional power (i.e., one’s general feeling of power) in the perception of sexual interest in a military context. In two vignette-based experiments with men who were military members, positional power induced by military rank led to heightened sexual perceptions. Men estimated higher sexual interest from their interaction partner when interacting with a hypothetical woman of a lower military rank, compared to a woman of equal (Experiment 1; N = 144) or higher military rank (Experiment 2; N = 232). Being in a relatively higher rank induces feelings of power over the interaction partner and thus results in a higher perception of sexual interest. Furthermore, Experiment 2 revealed that positional power better predicted heightened perceived sexual interest than dispositional power.
... In people, bodily adornments are a ubiquitous part of the extended phenotype (Etcoff et al., 2011). Such adornments can include clothing (Guéguen, 2012), cosmetics (Wagstaff, 2018), hairstyling and beards (Sherlock, Tegg, Sulikowski, & Dixson, 2017), and tattoos (Molloy & Wagstaff, 2021). Phenotypic extensions are presumed to enhance perceived biological value (Etcoff et al., 2011) by drawing attention to (or concealing) attractive (or unattractive) heritable phenotypic features. ...
Make-up increases facial attractiveness. This may impress potential mates, but can also cause potential rivals to underestimate their own competitive potential. Such self-promotional behaviours may function even in the absence of potential mates, becoming signals of intrasexual competitive intent. Here we present data from two studies investigating the effects of digitally applied make-up on perceptions of intrasexual competitive intent, and on female perceivers' self-rated facial and body attractiveness, and self-esteem. In study 1, stimulus attractiveness moderated the impact of make-up: highly attractive women were perceived as more interper-sonally aggressive when made-up, while less attractive women were perceived as having more leadership potential when made-up. In study 2, high mate-value participants who viewed made-up (compared to non-made-up) attractive faces subsequently reported lower own facial attractiveness. Low mate value participants and participants who viewed less attractive faces did not adjust their own facial attractiveness in response to make-up; and make-up did not impact ratings of body image or self-esteem. We suggest that self-promotional acts, such as wearing make-up, can signal competitive intent to rivals, independently of direct impacts on the wearers' own attractiveness. Make-up may function in this way primarily between high mate-value women, serving other social functions on less attractive women.
... Hill and Barton (2005) who examined the association of colour of apparel with winning in the Olympics found that the apparent advantage of red was found only in male and not in female taekwondo and wrestling athletes. In other studies, males and females have been shown to respond differently to red colour (Elliot & Niesta, 2008), but these tend to be in the contexts of attraction (e.g., Gueguen, 2012;Kayser, Elliot, & Feltman, 2010) or distraction (e.g., Ioan et al., 2007). There has been no prior experimental study that had shown such interaction of red with sex, in relation to motor performance. ...
The effect of colour on different aspects of performance has been the subject of substantial research interest, and red had been shown to have varying effects on not only performance, but perceptions as well. This study examined the effect of apparel colour on self-predicted and actual motor performance. Thirty-six young adults (18 females, 18 males; 20.4 SD 1.32 years old), who had no experience in football, performed a task consisting of an agility ladder drill and football shooting, in each of three bib colours (red, blue, black). Self-predicted and actual performances were measured on the dimensions of shooting accuracy and kicking power. A significant effect of colour on self-predicted shooting accuracy was found. Participants expected themselves to shoot less accurately when they were wearing a red bib, compared to when wearing blue and black bibs. No effect of colour on actual performance was found and no significant interaction was found between colour and sex. The findings suggest that wearing red could reduce users' expectations of their performance in a novel motor task; there is no effect on actual performance.
... This decision makes our studies much more economical, while maintaining a clearly defined target population for the database and prediction model. We concentrate on women's clothes as they receive more attention by both researchers and laypeople [2,6,27,65,75]. ...
People use clothing to make personality inferences about others, and these inferences steer social behaviors. The current work makes four contributions to the measurement and prediction of clothing-based person perception: first, we integrate published research and open-ended responses to identify common psychological inferences made from clothes (Study 1). We find that people use clothes to make inferences about happiness, sexual interest, intelligence, trustworthiness, and confidence. Second, we examine consensus (i.e., interrater agreement) for clothing-based inferences (Study 2). We observe that characteristics of the inferring observer contribute more to the drawn inferences than the observed clothes, which entails low to medium levels of interrater agreement. Third, the current work examines whether a computer vision model can use image properties (i.e., pixels alone) to replicate human inferences (Study 3). While our best model outperforms a single human rater, its absolute performance falls short of reliability conventions in psychological research. Finally, we introduce a large database of clothing images with psychological labels and demonstrate its use for exploration and replication of psychological research. The database consists of 5000 images of (western) women’s clothing items with psychological inferences annotated by 25 participants per clothing item.
... Research on non-behavioral stimuli indicates that men are more attracted to women's smells and appearances during their fertile state [11,12]. Alternatively, studies of behavioral stimuli include women's use of revealing clothing, makeup, and even the color red during the fertile period of their cycles [13][14][15], though results are mixed and controversial. Many women undergo surgeries to enhance lips, increase breast size, make skin more taught, and ultimately fit more culturally normative expectations of attractiveness; most cosmetic surgeries worldwide are performed on women [16]. ...
Current literature on women’s sexual signaling focuses on modes of attracting potential, new sexual partners, but says little about women’s subtle sexual signals in committed, romantic relationships. Subtle sexual signals are inherently private and are only visible to the intended audience; a woman might use these signals to elicit or accept a sexual response from her partner or to increase her overall attractiveness, or attractivity. In this study, we sought to identify women’s use of intimate apparel as a proceptive or receptive behavior as well as the effects of relative mate value, relationship commitment, relationship satisfaction, and sexual functioning. A total of N = 353 women in the United States aged 25–45 who were in committed, heterosexual relationships completed the survey; 88.7% of the sample indicated wearing or having worn sexy underwear. Results indicate that women report wearing sexier underwear the day taking the survey if they anticipate sexual activity that same day. However, during the most recent sexual activity, women did not report wearing sexier underwear if they initiated (proceptive) that activity. While relative mate value was not directly related to sexiness of intimate apparel, women who report higher mate value tend to wear sexier underwear. Women’s use of intimate apparel might be viewed as a method of increasing attractivity and underlying receptivity to aid relationship maintenance, though caveats regarding measures and alternative interpretations are also discussed. Findings suggest that these women use intimate apparel to feel sexy, desired, aroused, and to prepare for sex with their partners. This study is the first to examine intimate apparel in relationships and as a subtle sexual signal of proceptivity and receptivity.
... Each shoe was centered onscreen via Power-Point and then saved as a jpeg file before cropping via editing software (GIMP v2.6.7) to 600 × 600 pixels. Because color cues alter various trait judgments of clothing and apparel (Guéguen, 2012;see Rowland & Burriss, 2017 for a recent review), these cues were removed via the program's desaturated luminosity function (gray level calculated as: luminosity = 0.21 × R + 0.72 × G + 0.07 × B). A total of 85 participants (13 of whom were male, M age = 31.86 ...
High heels are symbols of female sexuality and are “costly signals” if the risks of wearing them are offset by improving women’s attractiveness to men. From a functionalist perspective, the costs versus benefits of wearing heels may vary according to personal and contextual factors, such as her effectiveness at competing for mates, or at times when such motives are stronger. Here, we examined potential differences between women (self-rated attractiveness, dyadic versus solitary sexual desire, women’s age, competitive attitudes toward other women) and contextual variation (priming mating and competitive motives) in their responses to high heels. Study 1 (N = 79) and Study 2 (N = 273) revealed that self-rated attractiveness was positively related to orientation toward heeled shoes. When examining responses to two very attractive shoes (one higher heel, one lower heel) in Study 2, dyadic sexual desire, but not solitary sexual desire or intrasexual competitiveness, predicted their inclination to buy the higher-heeled shoe. In Study 3 (N = 142), young women chose high heels when primed with free choice of a designer shoe (95% CI [53.02 mm, 67.37 mm]) and preferred a heel 22 mm (0.87”) higher than older women (Study 4, N = 247). Contrary to predictions, priming mating or competitive motives did not alter women’s preference toward a higher heel (Studies 3 and 4). Our studies suggest that attractive women augment their physical appeal via heels. High heels may be a subtle indicator of dyadic sexual desire, and preferences for heels are stronger at times in the lifespan when mating competition is relatively intense.
... We have previously demonstrated that facial color clearly influences the judgment of facial expression using morphed facial expressions as experimental stimuli (Nakajima et al., 2017). However, color itself is also known to convey meaningful information such as attractiveness (Elliot and Niesta, 2008;Guéguen, 2012;Pazda et al., 2013;Young, 2015). In addition, previous studies have reported that a red background color to presented faces enhances the perception of anger, or otherwise negative expressions (Young et al., 2013;Gil and Le Bigot, 2015). ...
Detecting others’ emotional states from their faces is an essential component of successful social interaction. However, the ability to perceive emotional expressions is reported to be modulated by a number of factors. We have previously found that facial color modulates the judgment of facial expression, while another study has shown that background color plays a modulatory role. Therefore, in this study, we directly compared the effects of face and background color on facial expression judgment within a single experiment. Fear-to-anger morphed faces were presented in face and background color conditions. Our results showed that judgments of facial expressions was influenced by both face and background color. However, facial color effects were significantly greater than background color effects, although the color saturation of faces was lower compared to background colors. These results suggest that facial color is intimately related to the judgment of facial expression, over and above the influence of simple color.
... In the current study, we were unable to investigate the potential influence of sociosexual orientation, that is, whether daters were more interested in short-term relationships and/or casual sex versus more long-term and/or committed relationships. Research has shown that women displaying red were evaluated as having higher sexual intent (Guéguen, 2012), along with the complimentary finding that women interested in casual sex were more likely to display red ). If future studies were able to collect information regarding the motivations of the dating participants, we might predict that red displays would be used more frequently by women who were seeking (or at least more open to) casual sex. ...
Previous research has shown that displaying the color red can increase attractiveness. As a result, women display red more often when expecting to meet more attractive men in a laboratory context. Here, we carried out a field study by analyzing 546 daters from the “First Dates” television series. Each participant was filmed in a pre-date interview and during a real first date, allowing direct comparison of the clothing worn by each person in these two contexts. Analysis of ratings of the amount of red displayed showed that both men and women wore more red clothing during their dates. This pattern was even stronger for black clothing, while the amount of blue clothing did not differ across the two contexts. Our results provide the first real-world demonstration that people display more red and black clothing when meeting a possible mate for the first time, perhaps seeking to increase their attractiveness and/or reveal their intentions to potential partners.
... Indeed, many primates display red on their chest and genitalia specifically when they are in their ovulatory period (e.g., Dixson, 1983;Gerald, 2003;Setchell & Wickings, 2005). Similarly, previous research shows that women, in particular, wear red to signal motivation for sex and romance (e.g., Beall & Tracy, 2013;Eisenbruch, Simmons, & Roney, 2015;Elliot & Niesta, 2008;Guéguen, 2012a;Pazda, Elliot, & Greitemeyer, 2012;Roberts, Owen, & Havlicek, 2010). ...
Previous research has shown that during her monthly peak fertile window, a woman competes with other women for a suitable mate. Drawing upon research on ovulation and socially constructed meanings of the color red, we examine how a woman’s fertility status and red clothing worn by a target woman change perceptions of the target, as well as behaviors toward the target. Following previous research on the ovulatory status and color red effects, we rely on both hormonal and self-reported fertility data. Across six studies, our research fails to provide support for the prediction that an ovulating woman is less likely to trust another woman wearing red compared with a nonovulating woman.
... In restorants, men were found to pay female waitresses wearing a read outfit a more generous tip (193). It has also been found that men will more often perceive a woman donning red as being more "sexually eager" (194). Interestingly, red creates the same perception of women with other women as well: Other women will evaluate a female in red as having "high sexual receptivity and low sexual fidelity" (195). ...
Beauty in human beings can be defined as physical attractiveness to the opposite sex. Although the perception of attractiveness varies between cultures and individuals to a certain extent, it is established that most of the criteria for attractiveness are common among many cultures. According to evolutionary psychologists, facial and body-related features that people find attractive reflect the adaptations determined by sexual selection, which is one of the driving forces of evolution. These adaptations evolved to explore the mate value and reproductive success of a potential partner. Being attractive provides many social advantages to a person, and it is known that people make some positive attributions about other characteristics of such a person as well. Among humans, features such as facial beauty, youth, body shape, behaviors, voice tone, and ornamentation are important factors in the evaluation of attractiveness of the opposite sex.
... Moreover, because no high-heeled shoes were present in any of the Study 2 stimuli, the current findings cannot be explained by an association between high-heeled footwear and perceptions of women's sexuality, a media-constructed preference for highheeled shoes, or any other reason that men might have a preference for the shoes themselves. For the same reason, hypotheses suggesting that high heels influence men's judgments of women because of the appearance (Abbey, 1987;Abbey et al., 1987;Shotland and Craig, 1988;Koukounas and Letch, 2001;Guéguen, 2011) or color (Niesta-Kayser et al., 2010;Guéguen, 2012) of the shoes cannot account for the current findings. The current findings -which were based entirely on static imagesalso cannot be explained by the gait hypothesis (Morris et al., 2013; see also Guéguen, 2015). ...
Despite the widespread use of high-heeled footwear in both developing and modernized societies, we lack an understanding of this behavioral phenomenon at both proximate and distal levels of explanation. The current manuscript advances and tests a novel, evolutionarily anchored hypothesis for why women wear high heels, and provides convergent support for this hypothesis across multiple methods. Using a recently discovered evolved mate preference, we hypothesized that high heels influence women’s attractiveness via effects on their lumbar curvature. Independent studies that employed distinct methods, eliminated multiple confounds, and ruled out alternative explanations showed that when women wear high heels, their lumbar curvature increased and they were perceived as more attractive. Closer analysis revealed an even more precise pattern aligning with human evolved psychology: high-heeled footwear increased women’s attractiveness only when wearing heels altered their lumbar curvature to be closer to an evolutionarily optimal angle. These findings illustrate how human evolved psychology can contribute to and intersect with aspects of cultural evolution, highlighting that the two are not independent or autonomous processes but rather are deeply intertwined.
... In addition to specific styles of dress, researchers have been interested in dress color as a sexual cue. Guéguen (2012) showed male business students a single photo of a young woman wearing a t-shirt. Compared to when the woman wore blue, green, or white, men rated women wearing red as more attractive and as having more sexual intent. ...
Our research purpose was to assess research addressing relationships between dress and sex. Our review was focused on a 25 years span (i.e., 1990–2015) and on empirical research utilizing human participants published in refereed journals. Three main areas of research emerged: (1) dress used as cue to sexual information, (2) dress and sexual violence, and (3) dress, sex, and objectification. Our analyses revealed parents do invest their young children with sex-typed dress however sometimes children demand to wear such dress. Some women intentionally use dress to communicate sexual information but inferences about women who wear sexy dress can be misinterpreted and are sometimes negative. Observers link wearing sexy dress to violence including sexual coercion, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and unwelcome groping, touching, and grabbing. Certain items of sexy dress that reveal the body have been linked to self-objectification. The fit of the items may also contribute to the body revealing nature of clothing styles that elicit self-objectification. The use of sexual images of women and children has increased over time and viewing such images is also linked to self- and other-objectification. Suggestions are provided for future research.
... Since these pioneering publications there have been numerous investigations of the link between red and perceived attraction. Some have found similarly large effects (Buechner, Maier, Lichtenfeld, & Elliot, 2015;Elliot, Tracy, Pazda, & Beall, 2013;Guéguen, 2012;Jung, Kim, & Han, 2011;Lin, 2014;Pazda, Elliot, & Greitemeyer, 2012, 2014 while others have found little to no effect (Hesslinger et al., 2015;Kirsch, 2015;Peperkoorn, Roberts, & Pollet, 2016;Roberts, Owen, & Havlicek, 2010;Schwarz & Singer, 2013;Seibt & Klement, 2015;Wen, Zuo, Wu, Sun, & Liu, 2014). 1 In addition, one of the original studies (Elliot et al., 2010) has been criticized for having improbably consistent results (Francis, 2013), though this interpretation has been disputed (Elliot & Maier, 2013). ...
Red has been reported to enhance attraction for women rating men (Elliot et al., 2010) and men rating women (Elliot & Niesta, 2008). We replicated one of these studies online and in-person. To ensure rigor, we obtained original materials, planned for informative sample sizes, pre-registered our study, used a positive control, and adopted quality controls. For men, we found a very weak effect in the predicted direction (d = 0.09, 95% CI [À0.17, 0.34], N = 242). For women, we found a very weak effect in the opposite direction (d = À0.09, 95% CI [À0.30, 0.12], N = 360). The original studies may have overestimated the red effect, our studies may be an underestimate, or there could be strong moderation of the effect of red on attraction.
... On the other hand, in the context of sexual allurement and sexual attraction, red can be a positive stimulus which motivates our approach behavior (e.g., Elliot & Niesta, 2008;Guéguen, 2008Guéguen, , 2010Guéguen, , 2012aGuéguen, , 2012bGuéguen & Jacob, 2012a, 2012b, 2014Lin, 2014;Niesta-Kayser, Elliot, & Feltman, 2010;Roberts, Owen, & Havlicek, 2010). These studies reported that men felt more attraction to women who wore red or even had something red (e.g., a laptop computer) because of the association between red and sexual attraction and sexual arousal to women. ...
It is assumed that color has an influence on human cognition and behavior. The red effect has been taken up by a large body of research and the purpose of the study was to test the influence of red as a background color on the appraisal of pictures. Participants were randomly divided into two conditions: red or white. They appraised the levels of valence and arousal of four pictures with background colors of red or white. Results demonstrated that the levels of arousal were significantly
higher when negative pictures with background color red were presented than when they were presented with background color white. This study’s results are consistent with previous studies that have demonstrated a context-dependent manner of color effects on human cognition and behavior.
... Differentemente, la percezione del colore rosso durante compiti cognitivi complessi, associata al signifi cato di pericolo, induce performance peggiori rispetto alla percezione di altri colori o di stimoli acromatici di controllo (Elliott et al. 2007;Gnambs et al. 2010;Ioan et al. 2007;Lichtenfeld et al. 2009;Maier et al. 2008;Yamazaki e Eto 2011). Infi ne, il colore rosso suscita giudizi espliciti di maggiore attrattività da parte di uomini e donne nei confronti di individui di sesso opposto, che si concretizzano anche in comportamenti di maggiore affi liazione sociale (Elliot e Niesta 2008;Guéguen e Jacob 2012, 2014Guéguen 2012aGuéguen , 2012bNiesta et al. 2010;Meier et al. 2012;Roberts et al. 2010). L'effetto del colore rosso sui giudizi di attrattività, rispetto ad altri colori, infl uenza anche i giudizi rivolti a se stessi (Burtin et al. 2011). ...
... It is important to note that our results and the results of previous color hierarchy studies add to a host of research showing that the color red in particular has a special modulatory effect on behavior and cognition. For example, the color red degrades performance in achievement contexts (e.g., tests; Elliot et al., 2007;Maier et al., 2008), red cues can interact with the emotional valence of stimuli to modulate responses to emotional stimuli (Kuniecki et al., 2015), and females who wear red clothing are rated as being more attractive and as having more sexual intent by heterosexual males, suggesting that red may act as a sexual cue (e.g., Guéguen, 2012;Elliot et al., 2013). ...
Actions are informed by the complex interactions of response execution and inhibition networks. These networks integrate sensory information with internal states and behavioral goals to produce an appropriate action or to update an ongoing action. Recent investigations have shown that, behaviorally, attention is captured through a hierarchy of colors. These studies showed how the color hierarchy affected visual processing. To determine whether the color hierarchy can be extended to higher level executive functions such as response execution and inhibition, we conducted several experiments using the stop-signal task (SST). In the first experiment, we modified the classic paradigm so that the go signals could vary in task-irrelevant color, with an auditory stop signal. We found that the task-irrelevant color of the go signals did not differentially affect response times. In the second experiment we determined that making the color of the go signal relevant for response selection still did not affect reaction times(RTs) and, thus, execution. In the third experiment, we modified the paradigm so that the stop signal was a task relevant change in color of the go signal. The mean RT to the red stop signal was approximately 25 ms faster than to the green stop signal. In other words, red stop signals facilitated response inhibition more than green stop signals, however, there was no comparative facilitation of response execution. These findings suggest that response inhibition, but not execution, networks are sensitive to differences in color salience. They also suggest that the color hierarchy is based on attentional networks and not simply on early sensory processing.
... Numerous studies in the U.S., Europe, and Africa suggest that men perceive female targets as more attractive and sexually desirable if they are wearing red clothing, if they are seen in front of a red background, or if they are pictured near a red product [4][5][6][7][8]. These effects of the color red are specific to opposite-sex (not same-sex) ratings of attractiveness and desirability, and do not influence ratings of the female targets' other qualities, such as her overall likeability, kindness, or intelligence [4,6,9]. ...
The color red has special meaning in mating-relevant contexts. Wearing red can enhance perceptions of women's attractiveness and desirability as a potential romantic partner. Building on recent findings, the present study examined whether women's (N = 74) choice to display the color red is influenced by the attractiveness of an expected opposite-sex interaction partner. Results indicated that female participants who expected to interact with an attractive man displayed red (on clothing, accessories, and/or makeup) more often than a baseline consisting of women in a natural environment with no induced expectation. In contrast, when women expected to interact with an unattractive man, they eschewed red, displaying it less often than in the baseline condition. Findings are discussed with respect to evolutionary and cultural perspectives on mate evaluation and selection.
... We have previously demonstrated that facial color clearly influences the judgment of facial expression using morphed facial expressions as experimental stimuli (Nakajima et al., 2017). However, color itself is also known to convey meaningful information such as attractiveness (Elliot and Niesta, 2008;Guéguen, 2012;Pazda et al., 2013;Young, 2015). In addition, previous studies have reported that a red background color to presented faces enhances the perception of anger, or otherwise negative expressions (Young et al., 2013;Gil and Le Bigot, 2015). ...
... In a field experiment (Guéguen 2012), five female confederates wore t-shirts of red or other colors and stood by the side of a road to hitchhike. The t-shirt color did not affect women drivers, but significantly more men stopped to pick up the female confederates when they wore the red t-shirts as compared to all the other colors. ...
The purpose of this research was to provide a critical review of key research areas within the social psychology of dress. The review addresses published research in two broad areas: (1) dress as a stimulus and its influence on (a) attributions by others, attributions about self, and on one's behavior and (2) relationships between dress, the body, and the self. We identify theoretical approaches used in conducting research in these areas, provide an abbreviated background of research in these areas highlighting key findings, and identify future research directions and possibilities. The subject matter presented features developing topics within the social psychology of dress and is useful for undergraduate students who want an overview of the content area. It is also useful for graduate students (1) who want to learn about the major scholars in these key areas of inquiry who have moved the field forward, or (2) who are looking for ideas for their own thesis or dissertation research. Finally, information in this paper is useful for professors who research or teach the social psychology of dress.
... In some primates, the red color of the chest and genitals signals sexual receptivity (Deschner, Heistermann, Hodges, and Boesch, 2004;Waitt et al., 2006) and increases sexual arousal in watching males (Bielert, Girolami, and Jowell, 1989). The effect of red on sexual signaling and romance has also been reported in many human studies, showing that respondents wearing red or holding red items were perceived as more attractive by the opposite gender (e.g., Elliot and Niesta, 2008;Elliot et al., 2010;Guéguen, 2012;Lin, 2014;Pazda, Elliot, and Greitemeyer, 2012;Roberts, Owen, and Havlicek, 2010;Schwarz and Singer, 2013; but see Johns, Hargrave, and Newton-Fisher, 2012), and this effect seems to be universal (Elliot, Tracy, Pazda, and Beall, 2013). ...
In a previous study, we found that the shape of a bird, rather than its color, plays a major role in the determination of human preferences. Thus, in the present study, we asked whether the preferences of human respondents towards uniformly shaped, colorful birds are determined by pattern rather than color. The experimental stimuli were pictures of small passerine birds of the family Pittidae possessing uniform shape but vivid coloration. We asked 200 participants to rank 43 colored and 43 identical, but grayscaled, pictures of birds. To find the traits determining human preferences, we performed GLM analysis in which we tried to explain the mean preference ranks and PC axes by the following explanatory variables: the overall lightness and saturation, edges (pattern), and the portion of each of the basic color hues. The results showed that the mean preference ranks of the grayscale set is explained mostly by the birds' pattern, whereas the colored set ranking is mostly determined by the overall lightness. The effect of colors was weaker, but still significant, and revealed that people liked blue and green birds. We found no significant role of the color red, the perception of which was acquired relatively recently in evolution.
Elliot and Maier have stated that the color red facilitates approach and avoidance motivated behaviors depending on context (2012). Approach behaviors are seen through the biological perspective in the reddening of faces during ovulation and then ingrained socially with associations of red and romance. Avoidance behaviors are biologically displayed in red faces when expressing anger and red is socially conditioned as a sign of danger. This study examines red in the workplace, which is a context where one’s abilities and one’s appearance are evaluated and could promote avoidance related behaviors and approach related behaviors. This study intends to question if the color red affects heterosexual male participant’s perceptions of a female’s attractiveness, measured by sexual intent, and intelligence, measured by hire-ability, in the workplace. This study hypothesizes that men will present avoidance behaviors in the response to intelligence and approach behaviors in the response to attraction when viewing women in the workplace. This study used an experimental between-subjects design where subjects participated in evaluating a female’s intelligence and attraction in one of three color conditions by completing an online survey. A mediator analysis was run, and no data was found significant.
Keywords: approach motivated behavior, Avoidance motivated behavior, gender stereotype, workplace, social psychology
We perceive color everywhere and on everything that we encounter in daily life. Color science has progressed to the point where a great deal is known about the mechanics, evolution, and development of color vision, but less is known about the relation between color vision and psychology. However, color psychology is now a burgeoning, exciting area and this Handbook provides comprehensive coverage of emerging theory and research. Top scholars in the field provide rigorous overviews of work on color categorization, color symbolism and association, color preference, reciprocal relations between color perception and psychological functioning, and variations and deficiencies in color perception. The Handbook of Color Psychology seeks to facilitate cross-fertilization among researchers, both within and across disciplines and areas of research, and is an essential resource for anyone interested in color psychology in both theoretical and applied areas of study.
The current provision for equipping young Indonesians with a comprehensive knowledge of reproductive health is inadequate. In Indonesian primary and secondary schools, reproductive health education is integrated into various subjects, including Science, Biology, Sport, and Health Education. In this paper, we compared the accuracy of the material related to reproductive health education to scientific evidence published in medical scientific journals or medical textbooks. Even though the schoolbooks were used in Indonesia's 2006 minimum standard requirements of subject matter (KTSP) curriculum, we found much inaccurate information that is not based on the scientific literature and unnecessarily detailed information on therapy and technology. Schoolbooks should emphasize promoting a healthy lifestyle, preventing high-risk sexual behaviors, encouraging openness and discussion about reproductive health in the family, improving self-confidence to refuse and avoid sexual harassment, encouraging positive sexual behaviors, and increasing awareness for treatment-seeking behavior.
Relative to other species, human females invest considerable effort in attracting and retaining mates. Stroll the aisles of any bookstore and you may come across titles such as “Get the guy: Learn secrets of the male mind to find the man you want and the love you deserve” (Hussey, 2014), and “Texts so good he can't ignore: Sassy texting secrets for attracting high-quality men” (Bryans, 2018). A desire to attract and retain mates underlies diverse facets of women’s psychology and behavior, including displaying or enhancing aspects of one’s personality and physical appearance. Not surprisingly, these efforts correspond with men’s mate preferences. Human males are unique in their relative choosiness surrounding their mates, especially within the context of long-term pair-bonding. Look further in that bookstore aisle and you might come across a title such as “The man's handbook for choosing the right woman” (Daniels, 2009). In this chapter, we examine the theoretical rationale underlying female intersexual selection. We begin with a discussion of the theory underlying human mate choice, highlighting why men’s choosiness has been selected for, and why this compels women to exert effort toward attracting men. We then discuss specific characteristics of men’s short-term and long-term mate choice, and the multitude of tactics women utilize to better embody those traits. We describe preliminary evidence surrounding how intersexual selection may have shaped some phenotypic traits in women as costly signals of underlying fertility or immunocompetence. Finally, we discuss both individual and contextual differences among women in their mating effort and provide suggestions for future research directions aimed at further understanding how intersexual selection has shaped women’s mating psychology.
Color is shown to affect decision making and judgment. However, no prior research has examined both between‐ and within‐culture variations in color associations. To this end, we test the red (vs. green) effects on risk preferences in the United States and China while assessing individual differences in color associations. Across three studies, we find cultural reactance effects, that is, in the domain of risk aversion, the color associated with gain (American: green/Chinese: red) leads participants to become more risk averse when they personally associate green (in America) and red (in China) with loss. In the domain of risk seeking, the color associated with loss (American: red/Chinese: green) leads participants to become more risk seeking when they personally associate green (in China) and red (in America) with gain. By providing a novel perspective that integrates between‐ and within‐culture variations, our findings have implications for understanding the generalizability of the color effects across individuals and cultures.
Research on how color affects psychological functioning has grown in recent years. The majority of these studies have focused on hue or lightness, while paying little attention to chroma. The present research sought to address this oversight in the literature by investigating the degree to which chroma influences person perception, specifically with regard to the Big Five personality traits. Drawing from Conceptual Metaphor Theory, we predicted that perceiving literal colorfulness (i.e., chroma) would influence perceptions of figurative colorfulness (i.e., extraversion, openness). In Experiment 1, participants (n = 351) rated the Big Five personality traits of a male target wearing a high or low-chroma blue shirt. In Experiment 2, participants (n = 164) rated personality traits of 10 male targets surrounded by high versus low-chroma colored borders (green, blue, and red). In Experiment 3, participants (n = 203) rated personality traits of 18 (male and female) targets wearing high and low-chroma clothing (green, blue, and red). Targets surrounded by (or wearing) high-chroma colors were perceived as more extraverted and open than when surrounded by (or wearing) low-chroma colors. A meta-analytic summary indicates a robust effect. Chroma is a perceptual variable that can influence first impressions of personality.
Color has been argued to exert a powerful effect on motivation and behavior. This has led researchers, most notably in social psychology, to examine the effects of color on perceptions of (sexual) attractiveness. Building on a body of work on the ‘romantic red effect’ Lin (2014) found evidence that the color of a laptop influenced ratings of a woman's sexual attractiveness. If this holds true, then color effects could have profound importance for the marketing of consumer products such as laptops. Here we present two replications, one in the Netherlands and one in China, investigating whether red products increase perceived attractiveness. Across two studies, totaling 481 participants, we found no support for the claim that red products enhance sexual attractiveness. We discuss the implications for research on color and attractiveness and its implications for consumer research.
We conducted meta-analyses of studies that test the red-romance hypothesis, which is that the color red enhances heterosexual attraction in romantic contexts. For men rating women, we found a small, statistically significant effect (d = 0.26 [0.12, 0.40], p = .0004, N = 2,961), with substantial heterogeneity, Q(44) = 172.5, pQ < .0001, I² = 89% [82, 94], and equivocal results regarding the possibility of upward bias in the estimate. For women rating men, we found a very small effect (d = 0.13 [0.01, 0.25], p = .03, N = 2,739), with substantial heterogeneity, Q(35) = 73.0, pQ = .0002, I² = 53% [33, 80], and evidence of upward bias in the estimate. Moderator analyses suggest effect sizes may have declined over time (both genders), may be largest when an original shade of red is used (men only), and may be smaller in preregistered studies (women only). We present contrasting interpretations and suggestions for future research.
Films are popular medium that can reflect and contribute to changes in cultural norms and values. The films represent reality by combining film elements with stories, expression of emotions, and creation of the expression. This study focuses on enabling audiences to view women in films through the aspects of mise-en-scène in a frame. In this study, the researchers applied close textual analysis on scenes of the main female characters in four Thai films of Bhandevanov Devakula, a Thai film director. The four selected films, namely, The Eternity, The Outrage, Jan Dara the Beginning, and Jan Dara the Finale, are samples of the study. Findings suggest that the aspects of mise-en-scène in the films constantly use the red colour in the scenes of the main female characters to show the confidence, non-innocence, or high sexual attractiveness of women. Moreover, red colour is also used to reflect the sexual desire of men. This study is significant because it facilitates understanding of the comprehensive use of each aspect of mise-en-scène. This study also provides an understanding of how mise-en-scène can frame the expression of women in films. This study also demonstrates that the textual analysis approach of a film offers a close reading to facilitate a deep understanding of the meaning of a film through the interaction of all elements. This study has implications for research on film studies, analysis of mise-en-scène, women in the media, and the film industry of Southeast Asia. © 2017, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Press. All rights reserved.
This research aimed at testing whether the association of formality
of clothing with mental abstraction found in prior research depends
on whether individuals are (made) aware of the formality of their
clothing prior to measuring mental abstraction. In two preregistered
studies participants estimated the formality of their clothing and
performed an action identification task (Study 1) or categorization
task (Study 2) as measures of mental abstraction. In addition, we
varied the order of assessing formality of clothing and mental
abstraction to manipulate the accessibility of formality of clothing
before completing the mental abstraction tasks. When assessing
formality of clothing prior to mental abstraction we did not obtain
a reliable correlation so that the assumed decrease of this relation
in the reversed order condition could not be tested. When pooling
the data of both experimental conditions, the results of Study 1
support the hypothesis that formality of clothing is positively correlated
with mental abstraction and are compatible with the hypothesis
of a causal mechanism where formality of clothing influences
mental abstraction through changes in subjective social status and
power. Study 2 did not yield evidence for a positive correlation
between formality of clothing and mental abstraction.
Facial color is a significant source of social information, providing cues to physiological and psychological phenomena, such as physical health and emotion. On the basis that detecting such cues in others is advantageous, past work has shown that individuals detect color differences with more accuracy when viewing faces than non-faces. The current work aims to extend these findings by assessing the relative perceived magnitude of color differences between face and non-face stimuli. Across five experiments, participants simultaneously viewed pairs of faces versus non-faces with identical changes in amount of color, and were asked to choose the pair with the greater perceived color difference (Experiments 1-3) or to rate the magnitude of the color differences (Experiments 4a and 4b). The results indicated that participants were more likely to select the face stimuli and rate them as having greater color differences. This research supports the notion that color perception is enhanced for faces.
Past research has shown that peripheral and facial redness influences perceptions of attractiveness for men viewing women. The current research investigated whether a parallel effect is present when women rate men with varying facial redness. In four experiments, women judged the attractiveness of men’s faces, which were presented with varying degrees of redness. We also examined perceived healthiness and other candidate variables as mediators of the red-attractiveness effect. The results show that facial redness positively influences ratings of men’s attractiveness. Additionally, perceived healthiness was documented as a mediator of this effect, independent of other potential mediator variables. The current research emphasizes facial coloration as an important feature of social judgments.
Research has demonstrated that wearing red can have significant effects on perceptions of the wearer. However, these findings are based on impressions formed while viewing static images. Here, I focus on perceptions of political leaders and show participants short videos in order to investigate color effects in stimuli with increased ecological validity. Viewers watched videos of politicians and made judgments regarding how dominant, how good a leader, and how believable the politicians appeared to be. The colors of the politicians’ ties were digitally manipulated to be red or blue. Whether the politician was familiar (Study 1) or unfamiliar to viewers (Study 2), tie color had no effect on perceptions. Even when the sound was muted in order to increase the influence of visual cues (Study 3), I found no clothing color effect. Finally, when only presented with a static image (Study 4), wearing red still had no effect on judgments. These results suggest that, at least in a political setting, wearing red has no effect on perceptions. Therefore, real-world applications associated with red clothing may be limited.
In the present research, we investigated whether the red-attraction relation that has been observed for men viewing women may also be observed with regard to women's facial redness. We manipulated facial redness by slightly increasing or decreasing the redness on the faces of baseline pictures of target women, and then had men judge the attractiveness of the women. We also examined healthiness perceptions as a mediator of the redness-attraction relation, along with several other candidate mediator variables. A series of experiments showed that increased redness led to increased ratings of attractiveness, and decreased redness led to decreased ratings of attractiveness. Perceived healthiness was documented as a mediator of the influence of female facial redness on male perceptions of attractiveness, and this mediation was independent of other candidate mediator variables. The findings highlight the importance of attending to facial coloration as an attraction-relevant cue and point to interesting areas for subsequent research.
Four experiments examined the relation between behavioral expressions of dominance and the heterosexual attractiveness of males and females. Predictions concerning the relation between dominance and heterosexual attraction were derived from a consideration of sex role norms and from the comparative biological literature. All four experiments indicated an interaction between dominance and sex of target. Dominance behavior increased the attractiveness of males, but had no effect on the attractiveness of females. The third study indicated that the effect did not depend on the sex of the rater or on the sex of those with whom the dominant target interacted. The fourth study showed that the effect was specific to dominance as an independent variable and did not occur for related constructs (aggressive or domineering). This study also found that manipulated dominance enhanced only a male's sexual attractiveness and not his general likability. The results were discussed in terms of potential biological and cultural causal mechanisms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In many nonhuman primates, the color red enhances males' attraction to females. In 5 experiments, the authors demonstrate a parallel effect in humans: Red, relative to other achromatic and chromatic colors, leads men to view women as more attractive and more sexually desirable. Men seem unaware of this red effect, and red does not influence women's perceptions of the attractiveness of other women, nor men's perceptions of women's overall likeability, kindness, or intelligence. The findings have clear practical implications for men and women in the mating game and, perhaps, for fashion consultants, product designers, and marketers. Furthermore, the findings document the value of extending research on signal coloration to humans and of considering color as something of a common language, both within and across species.
Colors associated with different love attitudes were examined using the Hendrick and Hendrick Love Attitudes Scale for six love styles 143 college students rated the extent to which each love style reminded them of 12 colors. As expected. Lee's representation of the love-color-analogy was not supported. Each love attitude was associated with relatively distinct colors.
The lack of obvious visible manifestations of ovulation in human females, compared with the prominent sexual swellings of many primates, has led to the idea that human ovulation is concealed. While human ovulation is clearly not advertised to the same extent as in some other species, we show here that both men and women judge photographs of women's faces that were taken in the fertile window of the menstrual cycle as more attractive than photographs taken during the luteal phase. This indicates the existence of visible cues to ovulation in the human face, and is consistent with similar cyclical changes observed for preferences of female body odour. This heightened allure could be an adaptive mechanism for raising a female's relative value in the mating market at the time in the cycle when the probability of conception is at its highest.
Research has shown that with some nonhuman primates, red is associated with greater sexual attractiveness of females. Five female confederates in their early 20s posed as hitchhikers wearing T-shirts of different colors (black, white, red, blue, green, or yellow). It was found that the women wearing red solicited a higher response in the number of male drivers who stopped to offer a ride. No color effect was found when considering the behavior of female drivers. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2012
Research indicates that males perceive people to be more interested in sex than do women and are less able than women to differentiate among liking, love, and sexual involment. Does this mean, as Abbey (1982) hypothesized, that males cannot differentiate between friendly and sexually interested behavior? Videotapes were prepared of five couples, each showing a male and a female behaving in either a friendly or a sexually interrested fashion. The design was 2 (sex of subject) X 2 (male intent) X 2 (female intent) X 2 (sex of actor), with sex of actor as a within-subject factor. The data were analyzed by means of a MANOVA. Results of subjects' ratings of videotapes indicate that 1) males perceive both males and females as having more sexual interest than do females, and 2) both males and females differentiate between friendly and interested behavior. We concluded that 1) males and females have different thresholds for the perception of sexual intent, and 2) members of either sex can make errors, depending upon their perceptual threshold and the emotivity of the actors. The gender difference in the perception of sexual intent is thought to result from the male's greater sexual appetite, which the male uses as a model for the attribution of the appetites of others.
The studies described in this article examine retrospective reports of naturally occurring misperceptions of friendliness as sexual interest. Previous research has demonstrated that men perceive other people and situations more sexually than women do. The purpose of this research was to examine how this gender difference in perceptions of sexuality is exhibited in actual interactions between women and men. Two surveys of undergraduates were conducted. The results indicated that a large percentage of both women and men had experienced such misperceptions, although more women had than men. Most of these incidents were quickly resolved without problems; however, others involved some degree of forced sexual activity and left the individual feeling angry, humiliated, and depressed. Gender differences in the characteristics of these incidents and reactions to them are described. The implications of these findings for future research on gender differences in perceptions of sexual intent are discussed.
According to cultural stereotypes, men are more eager for sex than are women; women are more likely to set limits on such activity. In this paper, we review the work of theorists who have argued in favor of this proposition and review the interview and correlational data which support this contention. Finally, we report two experimental tests of ihis hypothesis. In these experiments, conducted in 1978 and 1982, male and female confederates of average attractiveness approached potential partners with one of three requests: "Would you go out tonight?" "Will you come over to my apartment?" or "Would you go to bed with me?" The great majority of men were willing to have a sexual liaison with the women who approached them. Women were not. Not one woman agreed to a sexual liaison. Many possible reasons for this marked gender difference were discussed. These studies were run in 1978 and 1982. It has since become important to track how the threat of AIDS is affecting men and women's willingness to date, come to an apartment, or to engage in casual sexual relations.
Research has shown that, after brief opposite-gender interactions, men perceive women more sexually than women perceive men (e.g., Abbey, 1982). This study examined interpersonal perceptions following dyadic cross-gender interactions between unacquainted individuals. Of particular concern were perceptions of sexual traits, interaction qualities, and physical attractiveness. The influence of being gender schematic on sexual judgments was examined. The results provide further support for Abbey's finding that men oversexualize women following brief interactions but failed to support the hypothesized gender schema effects. Additional analyses suggest the presence of another gender difference in judging attraction. Women who rated their partners as physically attractive also attributed more positive qualities to their partner and the interaction. By contrast, men's ratings of women revealed more limited associations with perceived physical attractiveness. Results are discussed in terms of gender differences in judging sexual attraction, the correlates of physical attractiveness, and continuing efforts to explain oversexualization.
In many non-human primate species, a display of red by a female increases attraction behavior in male conspecifics. In two experiments, we investigate an analogous effect in humans, specifically, whether red on a woman's shirt increases attraction behavior in men. In Experiment 1, men who viewed an ostensible conversation partner in a red versus a green shirt chose to ask her more intimate questions. In Experiment 2, men who viewed an ostensible interaction partner in a red versus a blue shirt chose to sit closer to her. These effects were observed across participants' perceptions of their own attractiveness (Experiment 1) and general activation and mood (Experiment 2). Our findings suggest that red acts as a basic, non-lexical prime, influencing reproduction-relevant behavior in like manner across species. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
In a sample of 183 men and 186 women, the authors assessed (a) the relative contributions of gender and level of nonverbal social cues to the perception of a female actor's sexual intent during a videotaped social interaction with a man and (b) the association between those variables and personality traits implicated in faulty sexual-information processing. The authors assessed those variables while the participants viewed 1 of 3 film segments depicting a female-male interaction. The authors experimentally manipulated eye contact, touch, physical proximity, and female clothing. At all levels of those nonverbal cues, the men perceived more sexual intent in the female actor than did the women. The perception of the female actor's sexual intent increased as the nonverbal cues in the film segments were magnified: Both actors displayed more eye contact, touch, and physical proximity, and the female actor wore more revealing clothing. Relative to the women, the men demonstrated greater sexual preoccupation and reduced sociosexual effectiveness, variables associated with inferring greater sexual intent in the female actor.
Conspicuous swellings of the perineal skin can be observed in females of many catharrine primate species particularly during the middle stages of the ovarian cycle. The functional significance of this trait remains poorly understood. Recently, two hypotheses, the "reliable indicator" hypothesis and the "graded signal" hypothesis that take into account not only the pattern but also the exaggerated size of sexual swellings, have gained attention. Here we test several predictions made by these hypotheses by combining (i) direct size measures (from video captures) of female sexual swellings with (ii) urinary hormone data to indicate timing of ovulation through enzyme immunoassay measurements of estrone conjugates and pregnanediol glucuronide (PdG) and (iii) behavioral observations of male mating efforts throughout 36 ovulatory cycles in 12 wild chimpanzees. We are able to show that (i) even within the traditionally defined maximum swelling period, further slight increases in swelling size indicate approaching ovulation, and (ii) that male mating interest changes according to the changes in swelling size. Furthermore, absolute swelling size during the periovulatory period increases and the alpha male associates more with females as the number of cycles to conception decreases. Finally, when having the choice between several "maximally" tumescent females, the alpha male prefers the female that is in the fertile phase of her cycle rather than that with the biggest swelling at that time. Thus, most of our findings are in line with the predictions of the graded signal hypothesis while none of them would support the reliable indicator hypothesis.
Man as the prayer: The origin and nature of human kind
- Y Lee
Lee, Y. (2006). Man as the prayer: The origin and nature of human kind. NewYork, NY: Trafford. Guéguen 265