thought: is the color red intimidating?

Is the color red intimidating?

According to the University of British Columbia’s research on color concerning the effects of red and blue on task work, red may be sometimes approached as a bit intimidating, superior, and with great caution. The article supporting this explains that the university had recently conducted a study with more than 600 participants about color. Subjects were asked to perform specified tasks under the condition of having a blue or red desktop background as well as tasks involving working with the actual color. Overall, those working with a red background performed “31 percent better at tasks like proofreading…which require attention to detail.”

Although significant results and differences were apparent in this particular studying involving red and blue, the experiment lacked a control group to make results comparable to the norm. In addition to this possible gap, the article did not specify where the sample population was taken from to be representative of which group of people. Certain groups of people may possibly be bias towards or less affected by a color, such as perhaps, those conditioned from a background of seeing the color red regularly would be “immune” to the effects of the particular hue. However, despite these minor discrepancies, I do believe that color effects how people perceive life and our surroundings.

Red may be perceived as intimidating and generally may seem so; however, depending on the context, the color may send off a different message. An article by David Johnson of Information Please asks the question whether different colors affect one’s mood.

The most emotionally intense color, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and
breathing. It is also the color of love. Red clothing gets noticed and makes the
wearer appear heavier…In decorating, red is usually used as an accent.
Decorators say that red furniture should be perfect since it will attract
attention.

Johnson forgets to add that the color red also stimulates appetite. In the fast food industry, companies often sport bright red logos, such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, and many other places to attract customers and sway them to buying their products. Even restaurants that do not have the bold red logos find ways to use color psychology to their advantage. Walking past the green and yellow logo of Subway, customers will find themselves in a lovely dining area with beautiful, alluring wallpaper displaying the freshness of fruits and vegetables the restaurant has to offer—of course, including a blown up photo of the deep rich fullness of red tomatoes.

Another article in connection to the University of Rochester, points out that “the color red attracts men to women.” Studies focused on males’ responses to different photographs of women in different settings and presentations. In one part of the study, men were asked to rate the attractiveness of a women framed by a red border opposed to a white or blue border. The other study went deeper into showing test subjects women with different colored shirts and asking them dating related questions. To establish some control, colors used in each study were “precisely equated in saturation and brightness levels” to avoid any other factors that could influence the outcome. At the end of the study, “the women shown framed by or wearing red were rated significantly more attractive and sexually desirable by men.”

Referring back to Johnson, “red clothing gets noticed and makes the wearer appear heavier.” If the color red makes the wearer appear heavier, then why are men selecting the women wearing the weight-adding color? It is possible that the color red may be linked to our biological roots with a more primitive nature to this phenomenon. In the past, it was traditional for the man to hunt and the woman to bear children. Ancient civilizations have praised the full figure of the female with goddesses and deities possessing a voluptuous body unlike today’s ideal image of a thin and delicate woman. “In decorating, red is usually used as an accent. Decorators say that red furniture should be perfect since it will attract attention.” Women are not furniture, but the color red not only empowers them to stimulate the appetites of men and give sign of fertility, but also allows them to have an unspeakable intensity men cannot describe through the mask of attraction. ♥


*Sorry, I did not include a bibliography. One will come soon so that sources will be cited correctly.

-lilxerica