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Men prefer women in red
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-28 16:30

Women in red are regarded as better looking and more desirable to men, according to research.


Actress Liz Hurley tries to prove that red is best. [Agencies] 

The study said that women in a red dress appears to be driven by primal instincts that associate the colour with sex.

It would appear that women sporting shades of scarlet or crimson are more likely to be asked out on a date and then have more money spent on her.

The study from the University of Rochester in the US, involved men being shown photographs of a "moderately attractive" young woman.

More than 100 men, mostly university undergraduates, were shown the pictures and asked to rate how pretty they were, how much they would like to kiss them and how much they would like to have sex with them.

Men were shown a woman, with some of the pictures bordered in red and some in white, gray or green.

Even though it was the same picture, men rated her as more attractive when bordered in red than by another colour.

Other photos showed a woman in different colours of shirts and again red scored strongly.

It was also estimated they would spend almost twice as much on her if she was dressed in red compared to her in blue.

Despite the effects, the men also insisted colour played little role in their choices, which would suggest they were unaware of the power of red.

Led by psychology professor Andrew Elliot, the study aims to provide hard evidence of "society's enduring love affair with red".

Prof Elliot said: "Although this 'red alert' may be a product of human society associating red with love for eons, it also may arise from more primitive biological roots."

Noting how certain male primates were attracted to females when they displayed red, he added: "It could be this very deep biologically based automatic tendency to respond to red as an attraction cue given our evolutionary heritage."

The research, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, also suggested a man in red was also more attractive to women.