EJSP

SHORT PAPER

The effect of red color on perceived self-attractiveness

Anne Berthold*, Gerhard Reese† & Judith Martin‡
* University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
† University of Koblenz-Landau, Landau, Germany
‡ Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Jena, Germany

Correspondence
Anne Berthold, Social Psychology,
University of Zürich, Rämistrasse 71, 8006
Zürich, Switzerland.
E-mail: Anne.Berthold@googlemail.com
Received: 25 April 2016
Accepted: 4 August 2016
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2238
Keywords: red effect, attractiveness,
status, self-perception
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 ex-
periments, 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.

Attractiveness has always been important to women
and men. However, in light of the omnipresence of
the concept of perfect beauty in the media and also in
real life, it may be more difficult than ever to feel attrac-
tive. People are constantly trying to increase their attrac-
tiveness because they want potential partners to see
them as a good catch. Meta-analytic evidence suggests
that attractiveness is a crucial predictor of the way
individuals are treated, not only in romantic but also
in professional contexts (Langlois et al., 2000). Recent
research has shown that a subtle factor—the color
red—has important consequences for attractiveness
judgments. Elliot and Niesta (2010) found that men
consistently rated women as higher in attractiveness
when a border of red framed their photographs or when
they were presented with a red shirt compared to other
colors. This red effect was also found for women
perceiving men (Elliot et al., 2008; Roberts, Owen, &
Havlicek, 2010).
However, the research of Roberts et al. (2010) pro-
vides not only evidence for a red effect regarding the
perception of unknown target persons; their data also
suggest that the color red may have an influence on
the targets themselves. Roberts et al. (2010) compared
perceivers’ attractiveness ratings of pictures displaying
targets that wore a white or red shirt with those in
which the targets only appeared to be wearing white
or red. They found a positive effect when the targets
were photographed in red that was independent of the
actually presented clothing color, and speculated that
the red effect in wearers “may be even stronger than
perceiver effects” (p.360). In this paper, we aim to shed
more light on the question whether the color red indeed
influences individuals’ self-perception. Specifically, we
extend previous findings on the red effect by studying
the effects of red on individuals’ perception of self-
attractiveness.
Color-in-context Theory
Elliot and Maier (2012) specified the basic premises on
color and psychological functioning. They assume that
color meanings and effects depend on the respective
context. People’s reactions towards the color red, for ex-
ample, can range from approach to avoidance as a result
of the varying meaning of the color. While red color has
an appetitive meaning in affiliation contexts, one and
the same hue can trigger an aversive reaction in
achievement contexts, because in this context red is
associated with danger and failure (Elliot & Maier,
2012). But why do such color associations exist in the
first place?
According to the color-in-context theory, two sources
are responsible for associations of color and responses.
On the one hand, it is assumed that societal learning
(i.e., classical conditioning) can cause an association be-
tween a color and a reaction; the color red for example
has symbolized love and carnal passion for centuries.
On the other hand, color associations can be due to bio-
logically based predispositions (Elliot & Maier, 2012).
Red color, for example, represents a sexual signal that
might have evolved from our biological heritage. This
reasoning is supported by research showing that non-
human female primates exhibit red coloration for
example as indicator of fertility (Elliot & Niesta, 2008).
Thus, both societal learning and biologically based

European Journal of Social Psychology 47 (2017) 645–652 Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 645
Red color and self-attractiveness
tendencies can jointly contribute to the development
and consolidation of a color association. Elliot and Maier
(2012) suspect that many color associations are origi-
nally derived from an evolutionary engrained receptiv-
ity, but then are shaped by societal learning. Thus, it is
most likely that the meaning of the color red also has a
biological background, because red coloration already
functions as a sexual signal for nonhuman species.
Nonetheless, societal learning seems to have turned
the originally pure sexual meaning of red color into a
more romantic association: red equals love. Still, the
sexual undertone seems to play a major role, because
it has been demonstrated that under red chromatic
conditions targets were perceived as more sexually at-
tractive but not as more likeable (Elliot & Niesta, 2008;
Elliot et al., 2010).
Self-perception and Attractiveness
Imagine somebody is repeatedly treated with more ap-
preciation when wearing red attire; what would you ex-
pect to happen? Is it likely that this person starts to feel
better when putting on something red? According to
learning theorists, the answer would be ‘yes’. Whenever
people constantly experience a positive reaction together
with a specific stimulus, they learn to associate both
stimulus and reaction—even without being aware of
that. One way to develop such an association is
second-order conditioning (Pavlov, 1927). In our red-
clothes example, the positive response (conditioned
stimulus CS1 = others feel attracted and react positively)
towards the person wearing red (unconditioned
stimulus = red color) is hypothesized to lead to a second
positive response (CS2 = the red-wearer feels appreci-
ated). In short, information is transferred from one stim-
ulus to another (red color ➔ reaction of others ➔
reaction of the self). A similar explanation is provided
in the concept of the spreading attitude effect, stating that
valence can be transferred “to objects or events that are
preassociated with the CS because of prior experimental
learning” (p. 920, Walther 2002). Thus, individuals learn
to associate red (clothes) with feeling attractive by
experiencing the positive reactions of attracted others.
This reasoning is fitting quite well to the assumption of
color-in-context theory stating that societal learning
(i.e., conditioning processes) causes color associations.
Bearing in mind that people are likely to associate
(i.e., learn to associate) wearing red with being attrac-
tive, we now propose that the color red can heighten in-
dividuals’ self-attractiveness. As mentioned in the
introduction, Roberts et al. (2010) already provide a
hint for our hypothesis. Their data revealed a positive
effect when the targets were photographed in red that
was independent of the actually presented clothing
color. Obviously the t-shirt color influenced how the
targets (i.e., wearer) had felt and/or probably behaved
at the very moment when being photographed—other-
wise the participants’ ratings could not have differed as a
function of photographed t-shirt color.
646 European Journal of Social Psychology 47 (2017) 645–652 Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A. Berthold et al.
Additional support for our hypothesis on red and self-
attractiveness provides self-perception theory (Bem,
1967). The theory states that people infer beliefs about
themselves in part from observations of their own ap-
pearance and behavior. Bem’s assumptions were con-
firmed by Kellerman and Laird (1982), who found
that having people wear glasses influenced their self-
perceptions regarding their performance and compe-
tence. Thus, by manipulating the look of individuals, it
seems possible to influence their self-perception.
Underlying Processes of the Red Effect in the
Affiliation Context
According to the color-in-context theory, biologically
based predispositions are deemed responsible for the ap-
petitive meaning of the color red, as is visible in the ex-
ample that nonhuman primates use red as indicator of
fertility (Elliot & Maier, 2007; 2012; Elliot & Niesta,
2008). Previous studies support the notion of biological
parallels between nonhumans and humans, as they
revealed a link between red color, attractiveness judg-
ment, and perceived sexual receptivity (Pazda, Elliot,
& Greitemeyer, 2012). Pazda et al. (2012) hypothesized
that men would perceive a female target as more attrac-
tive under red chromatic conditions because they asso-
ciate red with a higher sexual receptivity, which can
be viewed as a proxy (or prerequisite) for fertility. Their
research provides empirical evidence that perceived
sexual receptivity indeed mediates the relation between
red and sexual attraction in men viewing women. Addi-
tional evidence for the fertility-hypothesis provide
Schwarz and Singer (2013), showing that red enhanced
men’s attraction to young women, but not to meno-
pausal female targets. Moreover, there is recent re-
search on female participants indicating that women
are (at least unconsciously) aware of the link between
red and fertility; it was found that female participants
were more inclined to wear red clothes at the peak of
their fertility (Beall & Tracy, 2013).
Several further experiments have corroborated the
reasoning that there is a positive effect of red on attrac-
tiveness judgments, which is caused by sexual receptiv-
ity expectations (Elliot, Greitemeyer, & Pazda, 2013;
Guéguen 2012; Niesta Kayser, Elliot, & Feltman, 2010;
Pazda et al. 2014; Young 2015). In accordance with
these findings on red and the perceived attractiveness
of others, we now propose that sexual receptivity also
functions as mediator regarding the red effect on self-
attractiveness. Judging oneself as more attractive, when
the desire for a sexual intimacy is increased (through
the color red), seems to be an efficient strategy to attract
potential partners.
Other research suggests that status could also explain
the effect of red color on attractiveness ratings. For
example, nonhuman male primates use red color to
demonstrate dominance and status (see Elliot et al.,
2010). Moreover, it was found that women perceived
male targets as more attractive under the chromatic
A. Berthold et al.
Table 1. Self-attractiveness (means, standard deviations, and effect sizes) as function of gender and color condition (for all experiments separately and
across experiments)
Experiment 1 Experiment 2
Female Male Female
(n = 61) (n = 13) (n = 42)
Red condition 4.59 (1.02) 4.92 (0.37) 4.78 (0.98)
Blue condition 4.28 (0.77) 4.08 (0.76) 4.42 (0.96)
2
ηp .03 .04 .05
Hedges’ d .39 1.38 .36
2
M = mean (SD = standard deviation), ηp = effect size partial eta square, Hedges’ d, Positive values of the bias-corrected effect size Hedges’ d indicate that
self-attractiveness was higher in the red than the blue condition.
condition of red because red enhanced the perception of
high status (Elliot et al., 2010; Stephen, Oldham, Perrett,
& Barton, 2012). We therefore assume that the red
effect on self-appearance is also mediated by self-
perceived status. In other words, people most likely
perceive themselves as more attractive, because of the
ostensibly increased self-status (which is inferred from
the red color).
In sum, given that the meaning of red has such genu-
ine biological roots and is bolstered through societal
learning, we argue that wearing red affects individuals’
self-attractiveness judgments, because the color shapes
their look and they are inclined to base inferences on
their appearance (Bem, 1967). Accordingly, the color
red should be influential when inferring one’s sexual
receptivity and self-status. We assume that those two
variables mediate the effect of color on self-
attractiveness, as was found regarding the perception
of others (Elliot & Maier, 2012; 2014). We refrain from
examining gender differences in detail, as for the time
being, we aim to establish the self-perception red effect
in general.
Experiment 1
In Experiment 1, we investigated whether the color red
increases individuals’ perception of self-attractiveness. It
was expected that individuals would perceive themselves
as more attractive when wearing a red versus blue shirt.
Method
Seventy-four university students (psychology students
for the most part) from a large university in Eastern
Germany participated in the experiment (61 women,
13 men) with a mean age of 21.1 years (SD = 2.7). The
alleged aim of the study was to investigate the predict-
ability of personality traits based on facial features. Par-
ticipants were told that the procedure would require
them to wear a plain ordinary t-shirt (no-name prod-
uct) provided by the experimenter so as to avoid other
influences. The personality judgments were allegedly
made by the experimenters observing participants indi-
vidually through a window, while the participants were
completing a questionnaire on personality traits. Partic-
ipants were randomly assigned to one of two condi-
tions. In the red condition, participants were provided
European Journal of Social Psychology 47 (2017) 645–652 Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Red color and self-attractiveness
Experiment 3 Overall (Exp1–3)
Male Female Male Female Male
(n = 8) (n = 30) (n = 26) (n = 133) (n = 47)
5.13 (1.20) 5.41 (0.68) 5.45 (0.67) 4.82 (0.93) 5.23 (0.79)
4.26 (0.93) 4.57 (1.48) 4.66 (1.20) 4.44 (0.93) 4.43 (1.18)
.06 .08 .06 .03 .04
.74 .79 .74 .46 .89
with a red t-shirt and in the control condition with a
blue t-shirt (S, M, or L). All participants were seated
in cubicles that were equipped with a mirror, and the
respective t-shirt was provided within a big envelope
on the table. After putting on the shirt, participants
completed the questionnaire assessing perceived self-
attractiveness by 12 items (α = .89) rated on an
author-constructed scale from 1 = do not agree to 7 = do
agree (e.g., “At the moment I consider myself attrac-
tive.”). Finally, participants were thanked for their par-
ticipation and debriefed via e-mail.
Results and Discussion
An ANOVA with perceived self-attractiveness as the
dependent variable and color condition as the be-
tween subjects factor revealed a significant effect of
color1, F(1, 72) = 4.34, p = .04, ηp2 = .06. Participants
wearing a red shirt rated themselves as more attractive
(M = 4.76, SD = 1.10) than participants in the control
condition wearing a blue shirt, (M = 4.18, SD = 1.25).
We included gender as additional factor in the analysis
to test for potential gender differences. The results re-
vealed no interaction of color and gender F(1, 72)
= .88, p = .35, indicating that female and male partici-
pants did not differ regarding this self-perception red
effect (see also Table 1).
1
We conducted a short online test with the same self-attractiveness
scale as used in Experiment 1. Forty-two German-speaking individuals
took part in the online-study. They were asked to indicate their agree-
ment with the attractiveness-items and then described the colors of
their actual clothes. Additionally, we assessed if they were dressed in
the color red with a dichotomously structured item (yes/no). We calcu-
lated the mean perceived self-attractiveness of the participants, who did
not wear red (n = 42) and compared this score with those of the red and
blue condition of Experiment 1. There was no significant difference be-
tween the participants, who took part in the short online test (and who
did not wear red, M = 4.16, SD = 0.91) and the participants in the blue
condition of Exp.1, t(76) =
.47, p = .64. Not surprisingly, self-
perceived attractiveness was higher in the red condition compared to
the online sample not wearing red, t(77) = -2.37, p = .02. Accordingly,
the significant difference between the blue and red condition of Exper-
iment 1 is most likely due to an increase of self-attractiveness as a result
of wearing the color red. Put differently, it is rather unlikely that indi-
viduals decrease in self-perceived attractiveness as a consequence of
wearing blue, as there is no difference between the online-sample
and the blue condition.
647
Red color and self-attractiveness
Experiment 2
The aim of Experiment 2 was to test the stability of the
red effect on self-attractiveness. Therefore, we con-
ducted an experiment including a distraction phase. It
was hypothesized that perceived self-attractiveness,
measured before and after the distraction, would be
higher in the red condition and that this effect would
be stable over time. We expected that the effect would
still be found after diverting participants’ attention
(using a short video sequence), because whenever indi-
viduals rate their attractiveness they are likely to infer their
estimation from their current appearance (Bem, 1967).
Moreover, in Experiment 2, we included several
additional variables known to influence individuals’
self-evaluation. These variables were mood, body mass
index (BMI), and extraversion, which was found to be
strongly related to individuals’ self-esteem and self-
evaluation (e.g., Cheng & Furnham, 2003). Our aim
was to control for potential confounds that might inter-
fere with the occurrence of the self-perception red effect.
Method
The sample and procedure were similar to that of
Experiment 1, except for the delay. Fifty participants
(42 women, 8 men) with a mean age of 21.7 years
(SD = 3.0) rated their self-attractiveness on 11 items2
before and after watching a 5-minute video (α = .92,
α = .94). The video showed a scene of the U.S.–
American film “Dog Day Afternoon” from the year
1975 displaying a bank-hold up. Mirrors were present
throughout the whole session. We assessed height and
weight via open questions and thus calculated partici-
pants BMI. Mood was assessed with one single item
“How is your mood at the moment? Please cross the line
at the respective position.” (the two ending poles were
bad vs. good). The questionnaire contained seven extra-
version items (e.g., “I like to be at the center of action.”;
based on the scale of Borkenau & Ostendorf, 2008),
which were randomly distributed across the attractive-
ness items.
Results and Discussion
The attractiveness ratings were subjected to a 2 × 2
ANCOVA with color (red vs. blue) as the between-
subjects factor and time (before vs. after distraction)
as the within-subjects factor. We included the addi-
tional variables mentioned above as covariates. Again,
perceived self-attractiveness was higher in the red
(M = 4.96, SD = 0.95) than the blue condition
(M = 4.34, SD = 0.98), F(1, 41) = 4.42, p = .04, ηp2 = .10.
The effect was stable across time (see Figure 1, Red ef-
fect t1before F(1,41) = 3.78, p = .06, ηp2 = .08; Red effect
t2afterfilm F(1, 41) = 4.79, p = .03, η2p ¼ :11). The analysis
2
The scale was identical to the one used in Experiment 1a except for
one item that was excluded because participants (in Experiment 1) crit-
icized the wording of this item.
648 European Journal of Social Psychology 47 (2017) 645–652 Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A. Berthold et al.
6
Self-attractiveness
5
Blue
Red
4
3
Before distraction After distraction
Fig. 1: Perceived self-attractiveness as a function of color condition and
time
showed that the red effect neither interacted with gen-
der, F(1, 41) = .63, p = .43, nor with time, F(1, 41)
= 1.79, p = .19, indicating that both women’s and
men’s self-images profited from wearing red
(Table 1). Analyzing the data without the control var-
iables also showed that self-attractiveness was higher
in the red condition (M = 4.93) than in the blue condi-
tion (M = 4.38), F(1, 50) = 2.30, p = .14, η2 = .04. How-
ever, without the control variables, the effect was not
significant. It is possible that not all participants
responded similar to our manipulation, and future re-
search should examine the role of extraversion, BMI,
and mood regarding the red effect.
The first two experiments provide evidence that wear-
ing a red shirt increases one’s self-perceived attractive-
ness. One limitation of both studies, however, is that the
experimenter’s alleged personality judgment through
the lab window allowed participant–experimenter inter-
action. Not being blind to the hypotheses, the experi-
menter could have influenced the participants
unintentionally. A second issue that needs to be resolved
is the question of how the color red influences self-
perception. Based on previous research on the influence
of red on the perception of others, we expected that self-
perceived sexual receptivity and status would mediate
the red effect (Elliot & Maier, 2012; 2014).
Experiment 3
In Experiment 3, we examined the processes underly-
ing the self-perception red effect. Previous findings
demonstrated that male participants associated female
targets wearing a red shirt with higher sexual receptivity
resulting in higher attractiveness ratings (Pazda et al.
2012; 2014; see also Guéguen, 2012). Regarding male
targets, Elliot et al. (2010) showed that female partici-
pants perceived men with a red shirt as high in status
and therefore rated these male targets as more attractive
(see also Stephen et al., 2012). Accordingly, we included
these two variables—sexual receptivity and status—as
possible mediators. Note that in our study on self-
perception (and not on perception by others), we ex-
pected that the increase in self-attractiveness when
wearing red would be due to an increase in self-
A. Berthold et al.
perceived sexual receptivity as well as due to an increase
in self-perceived status.
We modified the experimental procedure to reduce
demand effects—due to the presence of an experi-
menter—that might have influenced the results of
Experiments 1 and 2. Participants were asked to take a
snapshot of themselves. They were told that their snap-
shot would be given to experts who would judge the
participant’s personality on the basis of facial features
(such as symmetry).
Method
Fifty-six participants from a university in West
Germany (30 women, 26 men) with a mean age of
20.5 years (SD = 1.7) were told that their first task would
be to put on the “standardized” t-shirt and to take a
picture of themselves (headshot with shoulders). The
experimenter explained to each participant that later
on, the photo would be given to independent experts
who would then allegedly rate their personality traits
based on specific facial features. As in Experiments 1
and 2, participants were randomly assigned to one of
the two conditions. In both conditions—the experimen-
tal (red shirt) and the control (blue shirt)—participants
were told that the “standardized” t-shirt served the
purpose of preventing individual clothing styles from
influencing the experts’ ratings. All participants were
given a questionnaire to fill out containing the following
variables rated on a scale from 1 = do not agree to
7 = agree: perceived self-status (5 items, “I would con-
sider my current status as high”; “At the moment I am
a person of high standing”; α = .76), sexual receptivity
(5 items, “At the moment I am in need of some physical
intimacy”; “I can imagine being sexually active today”,
α = .74) and perceived self-attractiveness (4 items, “At
the moment I am: attractive/good-looking/handsome/
sexy.” α = .92).
Results and Discussion
Perceived self-attractiveness. Again, participants
wearing a red shirt rated themselves as more attrac-
tive (M = 5.43, SD = 1.09) than participants in the con-
trol condition wearing a blue shirt (M = 4.61,
SD = 1.06), F(1, 52) = 8.06, p < .01, η2p ¼ :13 . Partici-
pants’ gender3 did not influence the results; no
3
Both females and males showed a similar pattern regarding all three
dependent variables. Analyzing the data separately for males and fe-
males indicated that the red effect on self-attractiveness was present
2
for females, Ffemale = 4.54, p = .04, η = .08 and males Fmale = 3.58,
2
p = .06, ηp = .06. Regarding self-perceived sexual receptivity, the effect
2
was found for women Ffemale = 5.61, p = .02, ηp = .10, but was not pres-
ent for men (although a trend may be seen), Fmale = 2.46, p = .12.
p = .90. Finally regarding self-status, a similar pattern emerged for fe-
2
males, Ffemale = 5.06, p = .03, ηp = .09, and males, Fmale = 3.69, p = .06,
2
ηp = .07.
European Journal of Social Psychology 47 (2017) 645–652 Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Red color and self-attractiveness
significant interaction of color and gender emerged
F(1, 52) < .01, p = .94.
Self-perceived sexual receptivity. As expected,
participants wearing red shirts (M = 4.49, SD = 0.95)
reported higher sexual receptiveness than partici-
pants wearing blue (M = 3.94, SD = 1.10), F(1, 52)
= 7.64, p < .01, ηp2 = .13. There was no interaction
with gender, F(1,52) = .23, p = .63, indicating that
both females and males responded similar to our
manipulation. Moreover, the analyses revealed a
main effect of gender, F(1, 52) = 8.70, p < .01,
ηp2 = .14, indicating that men (M = 4.55, SD = 1.00) re-
ported higher sexual receptiveness than women
(M = 3.95, SD = 1.02).
Self-perceived self-status. Participants wearing
red shirts reported higher status (M = 4.61, SD = 0.78)
than participants wearing blue shirts (M = 4.15,
SD = 0.86), F(1,52) = 8.65, p < .01, ηp2 = .14. There
was no interaction of color and gender, F(1,52) < .03,
again indicating that female and male participants did
not differ regarding the manipulation. Moreover,
the results showed that men (M = 4.65, SD = 0.73)
rated their status in general higher than did
women (M = 4.16, SD = 0.88), F(1, 52) = 9.36, p < .01,
ηp2 = .15.
Mediation analysis. To investigate the mediating
roles of self-perceived sexual receptivity and per-
ceived self-status between color condition and self-
attractiveness, we examined confidence intervals
(CIs) with standard errors that were estimated via
bootstrapping (Hayes, 2013). We used Hayes PRO-
CESS macro for SPSS (Model 4) to estimate the
95% CIs of the indirect effects, using 10 000 boot-
strap re-samples to approximate the sampling distri-
butions of the conditional indirect effect of shirt
color on self-attractiveness ratings via sexual recep-
tivity and status. Both indirect effects, tested to-
gether within one analysis, turned out to be
significant: An indirect effect of color on self-
attractiveness via sexual receptivity, B = 0.34, SE(B)
= 0.17; 95% bias-corrected and accelerated CI BCa
CI = [0.06, 0.62] and an indirect effect of color on
self-attractiveness via self-status, B = 0.44, SE(B)
= 0.14; BCa CI = [0.09, 0.79] emerged. These results
are consistent with our hypothesis that both self-
4
We tested alternative models with self-attractiveness as mediator. The
indirect effect of color on self-perceived sexual receptivity via self-
attractiveness was significant, B = 0.56, SE(B) = 0.11; 95% BCa
CI = [0.33; 0.79], and the indirect effect of color on self-status via self-
attractiveness was also significant B = 0.46, SE(B) = 0. 09; 95% BCa
CI = [0.27; 0.63]. Thus, considering self-attractiveness as the mediator
seems to be a viable alternative, but as the presentation in the current
paper is theoretically driven, we join the theorizing of previous research
suggesting that attractiveness is the outcome variable.
649
Red color and self-attractiveness
perceived sexual receptivity and status mediate the
relation between color and self-attractiveness4. Addi-
tional mediation analyses examining gender differ-
ences5 resulted in similar conclusions except that
for the male sample, the mediation via self-
perceived sexual receptivity did not reach a conven-
tional level of significance.
We also calculated a mediation analyses (PROCESS
macro, Model 8) testing for moderated mediation with
gender as moderator, the two mediators (sexual receptiv-
ity and status) and self-attractiveness as the outcome var-
iable. The results indicate that gender differences
regarding both mediators are unlikely; BCa
CIsex_rez = [
0.62, 0.33], BCa CIstatus = [
0.53, 0.39]; in
other words, both indirect effects did not differ as a func-
tion of gender.
Meta-analytic Summary
In order to gain a more precise estimate of the red effect
regarding self-attractiveness, we calculated the average
effect size of our experiments weighted by the inverse
of the variance (Johnson & Eagly, 2000). Combining ef-
fect sizes across experiments (N = 180), resulted in an
overall effect size of d = 0.57 (d = Hedge’s sample-size-
corrected effect size, which is a little smaller than
Cohen’s effect size), representing a medium effect. The
95% CI for the overall effect size, which does not in-
clude zero, indicates that possible values for the effect
are between d = 0.27 and 0.87. We also calculated the
overall effect size for females and males separately,
obtaining effect sizes of dfemale = 0.46 and dmale = 0.89.
5
Additional Mediation Analysis—Female Sample: Using the same
bootstrapping parameters as for the complete sample, we tested if self-
perceived sexual receptivity would serve as mediator between color
condition and self-attractiveness for the female sample. As expected,
the indirect effect of shirt color on self-attractiveness via sexual receptiv-
ity was significant, B = 0.53, SE(B) = 0.28; 95% bias-corrected and accel-
erated confidence interval BCa CI = [0.08; 1.18]. Thus, self-perceived
sexual receptivity mediated the relation between shirt color and self-
attractiveness among women. Moreover, we tested if self-status would
also serve as mediator between color condition and self-attractiveness
for the female sample. The indirect effect of shirt color on self-
attractiveness via self-status was also significant, B = 0.47, SE(B)
= 0.31; 95% BCa CI = [0.02; 1.26]. Thus, among women, the increase
in self-attractiveness in the red condition was due to both the increase
in self-perceived sexual receptivity as well as the increased self-status.
Additional Mediation Analysis—Male Sample: We found an indirect effect
of shirt color on self-attractiveness ratings via perceived self-status,
B = 0.60, SE(B) = 0.31; 95% BCa CI = [0.09; 1.26] for the male sample.
Thus, self-perceived status mediated the relation between shirt color
and self-attractiveness among men. In addition, we tested if self-
perceived sexual receptivity would also mediate the effect of color con-
dition on self-attractiveness. The indirect effect of color condition on
self-attractiveness via self-perceived sexual receptivity was not
significant, B = 0.42, SE(B) = 0.32; 95% BCa CI = [-0.10; 1.17].
Altogether, the additional analyses for the male sample indicate that
the effect of color on self-attractiveness is primarily due to the increase
in self-perceived status.
6
Note that the current data suffer from low power regarding the male
subsample. This, however, does not question the overall effect across
both gender (see also meta-analysis).
650 European Journal of Social Psychology 47 (2017) 645–652 Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A. Berthold et al.
(CIfemale = 0.12, 0.81; CImale = 0.28, 1.50). Table 1 con-
tains all effect sizes along with the overall effect for fe-
males and males6 separately.
General Discussion
The present research provides evidence for the influ-
ence of the color red on individuals’ self-perception.
Across three experiments, individuals rated their own
attractiveness as higher when wearing red as com-
pared to wearing blue (d = 0.57, across all experi-
ments). This red effect even endured a temporal
distraction (Experiment 2).
Mediation analyses revealed that both self-perceived
sexual receptivity and self-status independently medi-
ated the effect of color on self-attractiveness. Individ-
uals with a red shirt perceived themselves as more
attractive, because of an increase in their self-perceived
sexual receptivity and also because of an increase in
perceived self-status. These findings are in line with
previous research, as it was shown that women were
perceived as more attractive by men because the color
red signaled greater sexual receptivity (Pazda et al.,
2012) and men were seen as more attractive by
women because red signaled higher status (Elliot
et al., 2010). Our data did not provide clear evidence
for gender differences; however, it could be fruitful to
disentangle whether the effect is subject to different
processes among men and women. Moreover, as our
findings indicate that both mediation paths are possible
for women and men, it might be worthwhile to study
if men perceive women under red chromatic condi-
tions as more attractive because of an increase in status
(aside to the increased sexual receptivity). Likewise,
red men could be seen as more attractive because of
an increase of sexual receptivity (next to status). From
a biological point of view, these alternative paths
would make sense, as for example Setchell and
Wickings (2006) found that male mandrills prefer high
rank female mandrills (which are more likely fertile
and thus display red).
The present findings nicely corroborate recent
evidence that red is important for the self-image.
Recently, Elliot and Pazda (2012) found that women
displayed red on their individual website, when they
were interested in sexual behavior. Also, women were
more inclined to prefer red attire, when they expected
to meet an attractive man (Elliot et al., 2013; Prokop &
Hromada, 2013). Farrelly, Slater, Elliott, Walden, and
Wetherell (2013) found that men chose red over other
colors when their levels of testosterone were high,
indicating status and dominance.
Experiment 2 showed that the red effect persisted
even when individuals were distracted. Thus, there is
reason to believe that it is possible to heighten one’s
own attractiveness by wearing a red (and, hopefully,
occasionally cleaned) shirt over a longer period. Subse-
quent research should thus focus on the durability of
these effects, testing both effects of wearing red over a
longer period (e.g., across several experimental
A. Berthold et al.
instances) and delayed effects of wearing red (e.g.,
several days after wearing a red shirt).
Finally, we need to acknowledge the possibility of
unintended negative consequences when applying the
color red in an experimental design such as ours. Under
certain conditions, wearing red might lead to a disad-
vantageous increase in self-surveillance, and we know
from self-objectification research that increasing the
self-surveillance of one’s own physical appearance can
trigger severe consequences like body guilt and eating
restraint (Calogero & Pina, 2011). Thus, future
research should examine under which conditions the
red effect might backlash. It might also be fruitful to
address the question of whether there are certain
situations in which individuals avoid wearing red in
order to prevent sending wrong or unintended signals.
However, when it comes to a desired romantic interac-
tion, we aim to emphasize that wearing red appears to
be a promising strategy to increase one’s attractiveness
and to send the intended signals.
Acknowledgements
We thank Lisa D’Andola, Louise Burtin, Sina Franke,
Viktoria Fukazawa, Antonia Kaluza, Marietta
Klingenberg, Marie Lange, Philipp Mariacher, Martin
Schönke, Julia Straube, Carolin Utecht, and Lena
Sophie Zimmermann for their help with data collection.
We also want to thank Johannes Ullrich and Sascha
Schwarz for their valuable comments on a previous
version of the manuscript.
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