Red clothing increases perceived dominance, aggression and anger

Wiedemann, Diana; Burt, D. M.; Hill, Russell A.; Barton, Robert A.

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2015.0166

Cited by 53 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…In the typical competitive context of national flags, red is preferred across cultures due to its association with aggression. Since facial redness 27 and red clothing 28 can increase perceived dominance and aggression, it is reasonable to use red in flags to strengthen oneself and promote opponents' avoidance. The preference for red flags likely reflects a signaling function and points to the adaptive history of red in relevant contexts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Red color in flags: A signal for competition

Zhang

Feng

Han

et al. 2017

Color Research & Application

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The color-in-context theory and ecological valence theory suggest that color preference depends on the context and ecological object that define the psychological meanings of colors. The present study was conducted to identify the preference for the color red in national flags across the world. We explored 192 national flags across the world and found that red was the most frequently used color. Through a systemic examination of symbolic meanings behind use of the color red in flags, it was also found that the color red was often attached with an aggressive connotation. In contrast, the flags of the selected international collaborative organizations did not appear to prefer red. These results support the hypothesis of "red flag preference" in realworld competitive contexts. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed. K E Y W O R D Scolor preference, competitive context, ecological object, red | I NT ROD UCTI ONHuman color preference has some consistency. Earlier research has calculated the average ranking of humans' favorite colors across cultures as follows: blue, red, green, violet, orange, and yellow. 1 This sequence depends on certain conditions, such as hue, saturation, lightness, contrasting color, and the object to which that the color attaches. [2][3][4][5] These studies have explored color preference and related factors, but have not provided any theoretical explanation for its basis.The ecological valence theory considers color preference as an adaptation. 6 Organisms approach preferred colors and avoid displeasing colors because these colors are attached to some typical ecological objects that are vital to the organism's reproductive success. For example, people might like the color blue because it is associated with clear skies and clean water and dislike brown because it is associated with feces and rotten food. Thus, the preference for blue will facilitate individuals to interact with blue ecological objects (e.g., clean water) and benefit from them.The color-in-context theory suggests that human reactions toward a given color depend on context, which determines the psychological meaning associated with the color. For instance, red is associated with aggression in competitive contexts (e.g., a sports contest) and associated with sex in affiliation contexts (e.g., dating). 7 Therefore, in competitive contexts, primates, 8,9 including human beings, 10 avoid red stimuli. However, in affiliative contexts, animals 11,12 and human beings 13,14 will approach red stimuli.The ecological valence theory and color-in-context theory are both evolutionarily informed theories, though they are characterized by different frameworks. The ecological valence theory emphasizes that typical associations between objects and colors determine color preference, whereas color-in-context theory additionally proposes that context moderates this effect as a result of contextual psychological meanings. Therefore, a discussion of color preference must consider both the ecological object and the context....

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Red color in flags: A signal for competition

Zhang

Feng

Han

et al. 2017

Color Research & Application

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“…This can, in turn, potentially influence avoidance and approach behavior, with previous studies suggesting that color perception and behavior have a reciprocal relationship . Finally, most of these studies only examined a limited amount of parameters, focusing mainly on broad parameters such as perceived dominance, danger, anger, and aggressiveness . One thing all these parameters have in common is that they are not truly sport‐specific but rather they are strongly linked to a variety of competitive sport settings and are often examined in other contexts, such as attractiveness research .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceiving speed—The color can matter

Mentzel

Schücker

Hagemann

et al. 2019

Color Research & Application

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This study focuses on examining color effects of perceived speed in an individual noncompetitive sport context, treadmill running. In addition, the presence of individual trends for color effects are inspected by observing the connection of color effects in a sport‐specific video rating task with those found in an individual color association task. For this, 32 participants rated the perceived running speed of 48 videos depicting runners on a treadmill at seven different speed settings. Furthermore, participants rated a range of additional sport‐specific performance parameters. The runners in the video were shown wearing either a red, blue, or gray jersey, gray being used to strengthen the cover story. As a secondary task, the participants performed a modified Stroop task to assess implicit color associations. The results showed a significant color effect for speed; runners depicted in red were perceived as running at higher speeds compared to blue. No significant color effects were found for the other sport‐specific parameters. Finally, there was no significant covariate effect of the modified Stroop task for the speed perception color effect. These findings indicate that, in situations in which speed must be judged, red might be perceived as going faster.

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“…Furthermore, human subjects perceive themselves as being more dominant or aggressive when they choose to wear red clothes [51] and the heart rate of red dressers is elevated in the context of physical combat [52]. Interestingly, men but not women perceive red subjects as more dominant [53].…”

Section: (A) Competitive Sportsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal coloration research: why it matters

Caro

Stoddard

Stuart‐Fox

2017

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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While basic research on animal coloration is the theme of this special edition, here we highlight its applied significance for industry, innovation and society. Both the nanophotonic structures producing stunning optical effects and the colour perception mechanisms in animals are extremely diverse, having been honed over millions of years of evolution for many different purposes. Consequently, there is a wealth of opportunity for biomimetic and bioinspired applications of animal coloration research, spanning colour production, perception and function. Fundamental research on the production and perception of animal coloration is contributing to breakthroughs in the design of new materials (cosmetics, textiles, paints, optical coatings, security labels) and new technologies (cameras, sensors, optical devices, robots, biomedical implants). In addition, discoveries about the function of animal colour are influencing sport, fashion, the military and conservation. Understanding and applying knowledge of animal coloration is now a multidisciplinary exercise. Our goal here is to provide a catalyst for new ideas and collaborations between biologists studying animal coloration and researchers in other disciplines.

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Red clothing increases perceived dominance, aggression and anger

Cited by 53 publications

References 28 publications

Red color in flags: A signal for competition

Red color in flags: A signal for competition

Perceiving speed—The color can matter

Animal coloration research: why it matters

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