Health & Medicine
Wearing Red May Show A Sign Of Dominance In Men
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: May 13, 2015 03:49 PM EDT
Some studies have suggested that wearing red may inspire confidence. Yet new findings published in the journal Biology Letters suggest that men who wear red may be signaling to the outside world that they're angry and more aggressive.
Researchers at Durham University in England found that when they showed 50 male and 50 female volunteers images of men in different colored t-shirts, participants rated those who wore red as more aggressive and angry than those in blue or grey. Though the male volunteers also considered men wearing red as ‘dominant,' the female ones did not.
In the animal kingdom, red often signals aggression. Furthermore, a tendency for men to turn red-faced when they are angry is believed to actually be inherited from our ancient ancestors as a warning sign for changes in emotions. In some animal species, red may even be displayed by competing males that are trying to dominate each other in winning a fight over a female.
"We know that the color red has an effect on the human brain. This is embedded in our culture, for example the idea of wearing a red tie -- known as a 'power tie' -- for business, or issuing a red alert.," said Diana Wiedemann in the Department of Anthropology of the university, in a news release. "The implications of our research are that people may wish to think carefully about wearing red in social situations and perhaps important meetings, such as job interviews. Being perceived as aggressive or dominant may be an advantage in some circumstances but a disadvantage in others, for example where teamwork or trustworthiness is important."
Previous studies had shown how wearing red can hold effects in sports, promoting aggression and even competitiveness out on the field.
For the study, researchers had images of men digitally manipulated, so they appeared to wear a variety of differently colored t-shirts. Those who were shown to volunteers were rated on a scale of 1-7 for both aggression and dominance.
Volunteers were also asked to decide on the emotional state of the man in the image. Was he happy, frightened, neutral, etc., based on the chosen color? Findings revealed that many chose over other listed emotions.
"Taken together, our findings suggest a clear association between the color red and perceptions of anger, possibly related to the role of facial reddening as a natural sign of anger," the researchers concluded.
The Durham research team studied only the effects of men wearing red to limit the number of variables -- the results would have been much harder to analyse if they had presented the volunteers with images of both sexes. However, the perceptions of women wearing red may be a topic for future research.
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First Posted: May 13, 2015 03:49 PM EDT
Some studies have suggested that wearing red may inspire confidence. Yet new findings published in the journal Biology Letters suggest that men who wear red may be signaling to the outside world that they're angry and more aggressive.
Researchers at Durham University in England found that when they showed 50 male and 50 female volunteers images of men in different colored t-shirts, participants rated those who wore red as more aggressive and angry than those in blue or grey. Though the male volunteers also considered men wearing red as ‘dominant,' the female ones did not.
In the animal kingdom, red often signals aggression. Furthermore, a tendency for men to turn red-faced when they are angry is believed to actually be inherited from our ancient ancestors as a warning sign for changes in emotions. In some animal species, red may even be displayed by competing males that are trying to dominate each other in winning a fight over a female.
"We know that the color red has an effect on the human brain. This is embedded in our culture, for example the idea of wearing a red tie -- known as a 'power tie' -- for business, or issuing a red alert.," said Diana Wiedemann in the Department of Anthropology of the university, in a news release. "The implications of our research are that people may wish to think carefully about wearing red in social situations and perhaps important meetings, such as job interviews. Being perceived as aggressive or dominant may be an advantage in some circumstances but a disadvantage in others, for example where teamwork or trustworthiness is important."
Previous studies had shown how wearing red can hold effects in sports, promoting aggression and even competitiveness out on the field.
For the study, researchers had images of men digitally manipulated, so they appeared to wear a variety of differently colored t-shirts. Those who were shown to volunteers were rated on a scale of 1-7 for both aggression and dominance.
Volunteers were also asked to decide on the emotional state of the man in the image. Was he happy, frightened, neutral, etc., based on the chosen color? Findings revealed that many chose over other listed emotions.
"Taken together, our findings suggest a clear association between the color red and perceptions of anger, possibly related to the role of facial reddening as a natural sign of anger," the researchers concluded.
The Durham research team studied only the effects of men wearing red to limit the number of variables -- the results would have been much harder to analyse if they had presented the volunteers with images of both sexes. However, the perceptions of women wearing red may be a topic for future research.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone