Red is a distractor for men in competition

Ioan, Silvia; Sandulache, Miriam; Avramescu, Sinziana; Ilie, Andrei; Neacsu, Alexandru; Zăgrean, Leon; Moldovan, Mihai

doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2007.03.001

Cited by 29 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…One could therefore also ask for a more specified analysis of the findings of in which they describe a winning bias for red in four Olympic combat sports. A critical re-evaluation is also necessary for other recent analyses of colour-associated winning biases in sports (tae kwon do: Ioan et al 2007; judo: Matsumoto et al in press). Matsumoto et al (in press) reported a highly significant winning bias for blue in the men's division of four major international judo tournaments , 2003, 20052004 Olympics), but overlooked the same factors as Rowe et al (2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given this explanation, critical investigations on how colour can impact on psychological functioning and performance in combat sports are necessary. Viewing colour can impact on mood, behaviour, cognition tasks and brain activity (Kwallek et al 1997;Vrij 1997;Elliot & Maier 2007;Ioan et al 2007). For example, Elliot & Maier (2007) described a series of intriguing experiments showing that red evokes avoidance motivation, thereby undermining intellectual performance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

No effect of blue on winning contests in judo

Dijkstra

Preenen

2008

Proc. R. Soc. B.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A study by Rowe et al. reported a winning bias for judo athletes wearing a blue outfit relative to those wearing a white one during the 2004 Olympics. It was suggested that blue is associated with a higher likelihood of winning through differential effects of colour on opponent visibility and/or an intimidating effect on the opponent. However, we argue that there is no colour effect on winning in judo. We show that alternative factors, namely allocation biases, asymmetries in prior experience and differences in recovery time are possible confounding factors in the analysis of Rowe et al. After controlling for these factors, we found no difference in blue and white wins. We further analysed contest outcomes of 71 other major judo tournaments and also found no winning bias. Our findings have implications for sports policy makers: they suggest that a white-blue outfit pairing ensures an equal level of play.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

No effect of blue on winning contests in judo

Dijkstra

Preenen

2008

Proc. R. Soc. B.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, the vast majority of experimental studies have not confirmed this assessment [2,3]. It is for this reason that the most recent studies on this phenomenon are of considerable importance, in which it was found that the color red affects the human motivational process [4][5][6][7], can act as a distraction [8], or influence the perceived attractiveness of sexuality in humans [9][10][11] One of the main aspects of psychologists' research on the color red is the effect it has on the functioning of an athlete. The aim of this study presented here is in verifying one of the mechanical hypotheses on the impact of sportswear's color on the results of sports competition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of the "Red Win" Effect in Sports: A Hypothesis of Erroneous Perception of Opponents Dressed in Red - Preliminary Test

Sorokowski

Szmajke

2011

Human Movement

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose. Psychological research indicates that, in contact sports, the results of sports competitions might be influenced by the color of an athlete's uniform (especially the color red). However, previous research has not yet experimentally verified whether this hypothesis might be a consequence of perceptual distortion caused by moving objects of a certain color, such as red. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of an object's color on the efficiency of performing simple tasks in a basic computer game. Methods. 225 participants aged between 16 and 30 years played nine different "arcade" games of skill, differed by the rules and colors used in the game, where the subjects were tested on their ability to hit, escape from, or outmaneuver certain objects of a certain color (either blue, red or black). The score achieved was then correlated to what effect the color of the objects had on a subject's visual perception. Results. It was found that the study participants were able to hit red moving objects significantly better than blue and black objects. No difference was found in the ability to avoid elements, in all three colors. Conclusions. The obtained result finds that in some games of skill, the color of the used stimulus might significantly influence perceptual efficiency and, therefore, the results and performance of individuals. The results of our study suggest that future research is needed in investigating the meaning and role of colors, as this may be very important, in various sports. The colors used in sports equipment, uniforms, environment, etc., should be empirically verified if they can influence the results of sports competitions.

show abstract

“…Like many nonhuman species, it seems that humans use color to signal competitive advantage. This response was shown to be sex specific and suggests that men may associate red with aggression or dominance, similar to what is known for males in other species (Ioan et al 2007). Fig.…”

Section: In What Context Did Trichromatic Color Vision Evolve In Primmentioning

confidence: 71%

The Causes and Consequences of Color Vision

Gerl

Morris

2008

Evo Edu Outreach

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The ability to see colors is not universal in the animal kingdom. Those animals that can detect differences in the wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum glean valuable sensory information about their environment. They use color vision to forage, avoid predators, and find highquality mates. In the past, the colors that humans could see clouded scientists' study of animals' color perception. Leaving that bias behind has led to new insights about how and why the color vision of animals evolved. This paper provides a brief introduction to color vision, the genetics of color vision in humans, what colors other animals see, and how scientists study color vision. We examine the consequences of having color vision, including speciation, loss of olfactory capabilities, and sexual selection.

show abstract

Red is a distractor for men in competition

Cited by 29 publications

References 50 publications

No effect of blue on winning contests in judo

No effect of blue on winning contests in judo

The Influence of the "Red Win" Effect in Sports: A Hypothesis of Erroneous Perception of Opponents Dressed in Red - Preliminary Test

The Causes and Consequences of Color Vision

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About