No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
The Influence of the Amygdala and Color on Judgments of Attractiveness
Abstract
The present experiment explored whether the amygdala underlies the reported influence of the color red on judgments of attractiveness, referred to as the "red-effect" by Elliot et al. 5. We modulated amygdalar activity by showing participants either emotionally arousing or neutral images using the International Affective Picture System 2 (IAPS) and then used attractiveness ratings to measure their reactions to a female target photo. The female image was placed either on a red or gray background in order to explore the relationship between color and physiological arousal. Trends in attractiveness ratings, though not statistically significant, indicate that the level of emotional arousal produced by the IAPS images influenced the effect of the color red on attractiveness judgments. These preliminary results suggest that the amygdala was initially activated by the emotionally arousing images and maintained neural activation due to the exposure of the red background. We hypothesize that the amygdala is the common factor underlying the relationship between the physiological arousal caused by the images and the subsequent effect of the color red on attractiveness ratings.
... Indeed, in a series of experiments, Elliot & Niesta (2008) found that men rate women as more attractive and sexually desirable when the women are viewed within a red picture border or in red clothing. Subsequent research has also found support for this extended red effect on perceived attractiveness or attraction (Elliot et al. 2013b;Guéguen 2012a;Jung et al. 2011a,b;Pazda et al. 2012Pazda et al. , 2013Roberts et al. 2010;Schwarz & Singer 2013), although a few experiments have not found the effect with some measures (Schwarz & Singer 2013), some control conditions ( Jung et al. 2011b, or at all (Purdy 2009). Several experiments have shown that the effect is not limited to perceptions but may be observed in actual behavior. ...
Color is a ubiquitous perceptual stimulus that is often considered in terms of aesthetics. Here we review theoretical and empirical work that looks beyond color aesthetics to the link between color and psychological functioning in humans. We begin by setting a historical context for research in this area, particularly highlighting methodological issues that hampered earlier empirical work. We proceed to overview theoretical and methodological advances during the past decade and conduct a review of emerging empirical findings. Our empirical review focuses especially on color in achievement and affiliation/attraction contexts, but it also covers work on consumer behavior as well as food and beverage evaluation and consumption. The review clearly shows that color can carry important meaning and can have an important impact on people's affect, cognition, and behavior. The literature remains at a nascent stage of development, however, and we note that considerable work on boundary conditions, moderators, and real-world generalizability is needed before strong conceptual statements and recommendations for application are warranted. We provide suggestions for future research and conclude by emphasizing the broad promise of research in this area. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology Volume 65 is January 03, 2014. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/catalog/pubdates.aspx for revised estimates.
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.
THE ASSOCIATION of male sexual deviation with temporal lobe epilepsy has been noted in a considerable number of cases described in the literature.1-8 The inference that the temporal lobe lesion plays a causative role in the development of sexual deviations seemed warranted, especially in the case presented by Mitchell et al,6 but there was no evidence against the possibility that these cases of association of temporal lobe lesion and sexual deviation are only a matter of chance.
Since sexual deviation is viewed as a developmental disorder, it was hypothesized that for a brain lesion to have etiological significance, for its development it would need to have been present since early childhood.9-12 Because of the reported association of sexual deviation and temporal lobe lesion, it was predicted that in a sample of subjects with various brain lesions the sexual deviations will predominantly be associated with temporal lobe lesions lasting since early infancy.
Tested 30 Ss for strength as measured by grip dynamometer, power as measured by vertical jump, and precision as measured by rotary pursuit apparatus. Independent variables were lights colored red, blue, and pink under each of which the Ss performed 3 trials on each task. Mean grip strength was found to be significantly higher after viewing the red illuminated wall than after viewing the blue or pink illuminated wall. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
It is generally accepted that in sexual interaction men are the hunters and women the gatherers. An expressly sexual environment such as a red-light district would be expected to only reinforce this image. Strikingly enough, however, it is precisely prostitutes who seem able to break with these established gender roles. This ethnographic study uses participant observation to demonstrate how assumptions about sexual interaction may be specious: female prostitutes are frequently not the passive victims and male clients not the active sex-hunters they are taken for. Both the communicative function and protection of privacy play an important role in these processes in a red-light district. In the red-light district, gender interaction is bound by social regulation and unwritten rules that greatly exceed the influence of formal institutions. In this paper, the case of the red-light district "De Wallen" in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, is discussed in the context of several disciplines including urban anthropology, social psychology, geography, gender studies, and urban sociology.