Exploring the Implicit Link Between Red and Aggressiveness as Well as Blue and Agreeableness

Abstract

Previous studies have found a link between red and aggressive behavior. For example, athletes who wear red uniforms in sports are considered to have a competitive advantage. So far, most previous studies have adopted self-report methods, which have low face validity and were easily influenced by the social expectations. Therefore, the study used two implicit methods to further explore the association between red and aggressiveness. A modified Stroop task was used in Experiment 1 to probe college students’ differences between “congruent” tasks (i.e., red–aggressiveness and blue–agreeableness) and “incongruent” tasks (i.e., red–agreeableness and blue–aggressiveness). Result showed that participants responded more quickly to the congruent tasks than the incongruent tasks. Then, in order to adapt to the competitive context, Experiment 2 used an implicit association test with photos of athletes as the stimulus to college students and athletes to evaluate “congruent” tasks (i.e., red uniform photo-aggressiveness and blue uniform photo-agreeableness) as well as “incongruent” tasks (i.e., red uniform photo-agreeableness and blue uniform photo-aggressiveness), respectively. According to the results, both college students and athletes respond faster to congruent tasks than to incongruent tasks. Besides, athletes’ reactions to the red–aggressiveness association are faster than college students, which may relate to the athletes’ professional experience. The athletes may be more aggressive and impulsive. Overall, the study has attempted to examine the association between red and aggressiveness through implicit methods, but in the future, researches are need to find a deep association from brain mechanism aspect.

Success Is Not Final; Failure Is Not Fatal: How Failure Versus Success Messaging Leads to Preference for Masculine Brands

“…Third, we show that the most effective forms of failure messaging feature failures that are attributed to unstable (i.e., temporary) causes that reside within consumers, which can guide testimonial ad design. Finally, based on our theorizing, the effect of failure messaging on consumers’ brand interest is contingent on the associations between the brand and aggression; thus, feminine brands that cue aggression through strategies such as incorporating aggressive design elements (e.g., the color red; Geng, Hong, and Zhou 2021) can successfully employ failure messaging to promote the brands.…”

“…In the ads, participants read a college student's testimonial about how wearing an infinity bracelet bought from Hestia Crafts reminds the student to learn from failures (vs. successes) and move forward (see Web Appendix E). In the ads, the brand logo was displayed once in red (hue: 0, saturation: 240, lightness: 120) and once in blue (hue: 160, saturation: 240, lightness: 120), as prior research shows that these specific colors evoke perceptions of aggression and agreeableness, respectively (Geng, Hong, and Zhou 2021). Participants expressed their interest in buying products from Hestia Crafts (“How interested are you in buying a product from this brand?”; nine-point scale anchored at “not interested” and “very interested”).…”

“…Although aggression is conceptually linked to masculinity rather than femininity, brand masculinity and femininity are independent dimensions (Grohmann 2009); thus, feminine brands can be more or less aggressive. Leveraging research that has found an implicit association between the color red and perceptions of aggressiveness (Geng, Hong, and Zhou 2021), we explore how failure messaging combined with an implicit cue of aggression in brand design (i.e., those employing the color red) can boost consumers’ preferences for feminine brands.…”

The Effect of Red and Blue on Gross and Fine Motor Tasks: Confirming the Inverted-U Hypothesis

“…However, this study failed to clarify whether the red uniform reduced the performance of the opponents or improved the performance of the wearers. Later studies confirmed the association between red and aggressiveness (Geng et al, 2021), and found that the red-aggressiveness link affects observers' subjective judgments (e.g., that of referees) (Hagemann et al, 2008;Krenn, 2014Krenn, , 2015. Based on the redaggressiveness link, it seem to suggest that red affect observers' (referees) judgment of competitive performance, but it not answer the question of how red affect opponents' motor behavior.…”

Effect of the red uniform on the judgment of position or movement used in Wushu Routine, evaluated by practitioners of the modality

“…One explanation has to do with the biologically based responses to the color red. Red may enhance practitioners’ ratings by presenting biologically based signals of aggressiveness and dominance [ 28 , 46 , 47 ]. The effect of the red uniform is in line with the nature of Wushu, which portrays aggression, albeit in a stylized, aesthetically pleasing form.…”