The woman in red drives the men crazy, study finds

[영어도우미]

The woman in red drives the men crazy, study finds

By Will Dunham Will Dunham – Tue Oct 28, 1:45 pm ET

 

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – If a woman wants to drive the men wild, she might want to dress in red.

Men rated a woman shown in photographs as more sexually attractive if she was wearing red clothing or if she was shown in an image framed by a red border rather than some other color, U.S. researchers said Tuesday.

The study led by psychology professor Andrew Elliot of the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, seemed to confirm‎ red as the color of romance -- as so many Valentine's Day card makers and lipstick sellers have believed for years.

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, Elliot said.

Noting the genetic similarity of humans to higher primates, he said scientists have shown that certain male primates are especially attracted to females of their species displaying red. For example, female baboons and chimpanzees show red coloring when nearing ovulation, sending a sexual signal that the males apparently find irresistible.

"It could be this very deep, biologically based automatic tendency to respond to red as an attraction cue given our evolutionary heritage," Elliot, whose findings appear in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, said in a telephone interview.

The study involved more than 100 men, mostly college undergraduates, who were shown pictures of women and asked to rate how pretty they were, how much the men would like to kiss them and how much the men would like to have sex with them.

Men were shown a woman, with some of the pictures bordered in red and some bordered in white, gray or green. Even though it was the same picture of the same woman, when she was framed in red the men rated her as more attractive than when she was bordered by another color.

Men were then shown photographs of a woman that were identical except that the researchers digitally made her shirt red in some versions or blue in others. And once again, the men strongly favored the woman in red.

The men also were asked, "Imagine that you are going on a date with this person and have $100 in your wallet. How much money would you be willing to spend on your date?" When she was clad in red, the men said they would spend more money on her.

The researchers noted that the color red did not alter how men rated the women in the photographs in terms of likeability, intelligence or kindness -- only attractiveness.

The researchers then had a group of young women rate whether the pictured woman was pretty. Red had no impact on whether women rated other women as pretty, they found.

Gay men and color blind men were excluded from the study.

(Editing by Maggie Fox)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081028/od_nm/us_sex_red;_ylt=AitlJA8i5AHNCLrVD.uwdF7tiBIF

VOCABULARY

eon- an immeasurably or indefinitely long period of time : age

primitive-  not derived : original , primary b: assumed as a basis ; especially : axiomatic <primitive concepts>

genetic- of, relating to, or involving genetics b: of, relating to, caused by, or controlled by genes <a genetic disease> <genetic variation>

primate- New Latin Primates, from Latin, plural of primat-, primas] : any of an order (Primates) of mammals that are characterized especially by advanced development of binocular vision, specialization of the appendages for grasping, and enlargement of the cerebral hemispheres and that include humans, apes, monkeys, and related forms (as lemurs and tarsiers)

specie-in the same or like form or kind <ready to return insult in specie> ; also : in coin

clad-past and past participle of clothe

GUIDE QUESTIONS

1. What came first into your mind when you read the article?

2. Do you agree that a woman looks sexually attractive if she's wearing red clothing? Why or why not?

3. What's with that color that makes a woman attractive?

4. In your opinion, what makes a woman attractive?

5. What is your favorite color? Why?