The effect of red color on perceived self‐attractiveness

Abstract

Recent research showed that individuals are perceived as more attractive when presented with the color red. We seek to extend these findings by studying the effects of red color on individuals' perception of self‐attractiveness, rather than the attractiveness of others. Based on the color‐in‐context theory, we hypothesized that individuals would perceive themselves as more attractive under red chromatic conditions. In three experiments, participants were asked to wear a red or a blue shirt and rated their own attractiveness. As expected, participants in the red shirt condition indicated a higher level of self‐attractiveness than participants in the blue condition. Moreover, the results showed that the self‐perception red effect was mediated by the individuals' self‐perceived sexual receptivity and self‐perceived status.

Colored apparel and its potential influence on heterosexual attraction

“…22 Previous studies state that women would also choose to wear red themselves or felt more attractive in red, more sexually receptive, and having a higher status. 6,24 Scaling analysis results from this study, which allow women to rank a selection of colors, show that women choose varying colors depending on the outfit they are wearing. Women generally preferred to wear the colors turquoise or blue with black bottoms or a single outfit, but not when wearing denim bottoms.…”

“…[3][4][5] For humans, both genders use color to enhance their visual, aesthetic appearance in order to modify their self-image or to attract a significant other. 6,7 Make-up, hair dye, tattoos, accessories, or clothing are ways of using color in order to alter (permanently or temporary) or add "beauty" to one's aesthetic characteristics. 8 Color is used as a form of expression and a visual representation of an individual's social identity.…”

“…18 Although there are a large variety of colors from which people can make choices, the color red has been studied the most with respect to color preference and sexual attraction. 6,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] In western societies, the red hue is represented with the meaning of sex, lust, and romance in heterosexual interactions in novels, advertisements, television, and in cinemas, making the hue socially associated with an aphrodisiac. 19,24 Red is the most powerful of chromatic hues as it is known to arouse emotions, some of which are associated with behavior signals, such as sexual attractiveness.…”

“…22,24 Berthold, Reese, and Martin conducted three experiments in 2016 which looked at evaluating the color red on perceived self-attractiveness. 6 In all the three experiments, participants were given either a red shirt or blue shirt to put on and asked questions about their perceived selfattractiveness. Both men and women participants wearing a red shirt rated themselves as more attractive than the participants that were given a blue shirt.…”

Displaying Red and Black on a First Date: A Field Study Using the “First Dates” Television Series

“…especially motivated to increase their attractiveness in order to obtain high-quality mates. In line with this idea, researchers have shown that wearers indeed perceive themselves to be more attractive when in red (Berthold, Reese, & Martin, 2017).…”