The Red-Anger Effect: Is it Nothing More Than Demand Characteristics?

Abstract

Past studies have shown that higher levels of anger are inferred from faces that show increased facial redness (red-anger effect). However, all previous research in support of this effect has used within-subjects designs with varying levels of facial redness. We hypothesized that very frequent random changes in facial redness paired with limited options to respond to such changes can induce demand characteristics. As the color red has also been found to be strongly associated with anger, it may be obvious for participants that they are expected to respond to facial redness by indicating higher levels of perceived anger. In a preregistered close replication (Study 1, N = 40) conducted online, we observed the red-anger effect but were able to show that approximately one fifth of the participants were suspicious about the purpose of the study. If the effect is independent of demand characteristics, it should also emerge when facial redness is manipulated between-subjects. In a preregistered conceptual replication (Study 2, N = 329), we found the red-anger effect in a within-subjects design condition but not in a between-subjects design condition. We conclude that past findings of the red-anger effect were (at least partially) due to demand characteristics. Future research should (a) attend to demand characteristics, (b) use a broader diversity of methodological approaches, and (c) develop and test explanations about processes that are related to color in emotion perception.