Like Baboons, Men Are Hot For Ladies In Red

Photo: Sasaguchi YoshihitoPsychology research is ever turning up more ways that humans are like animals. In the particular study I'm reporting about today, the human male, in particular, is being compared to the baboon, chimpanzee, and other nonhuman primates. It's about the color red. It's sexy.

Nonhuman primate males are known to respond amorously to females who redden when they are near ovulation. Likewise, according to the studies conducted by University of Rochester psychologists, Andrew Elliot and Daniela Niesta, a female wearing red affects human males like an aphrodisiac, quite without their conscious awareness.

Elliot and Niesta conducted five experiments in which men responded to questions about pictures they were shown. The findings of all five studies indicated that men were more sexually attracted to women dressed in red or that simply had red frames around their pictures. The "red effect" was only observed in males and only reflected the aspect of the female's attractiveness, not her personality characteristics or intelligence.

The research concluded that men have a similar sexual "red effect" as other primates and that the "current findings have clear implications for the dating game, the fashion industry, product design and marketing." The full study will appear in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology on October 28, 2008.

Now, for those of you who remember Lady In Red, by Chris De Burgh, here's a little treat from You-Tube to bring back those hot memories.

source: University of Rochester (2008, October 28). Red Enhances Men's Attraction To Women, Psychological Study Reveals. ScienceDaily. For full photo credits, see Metropolis

Keeping you posted...