TY - JOUR
T1 - Strategic sexual signals
T2 - Women's display versus avoidance of the color red depends on the attractiveness of an anticipated interaction partner
AU - Kayser, Daniela Niesta
AU - Agthe, Maria
AU - Maner, Jon K.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Niesta Kayser et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2016/3
Y1 - 2016/3
N2 - The color red has special meaning in mating-relevant contexts. Wearing red can enhance perceptions of women's attractiveness and desirability as a potential romantic partner. Building on recent findings, the present study examined whether women's (N = 74) choice to display the color red is influenced by the attractiveness of an expected opposite-sex interaction partner. Results indicated that female participants who expected to interact with an attractive man displayed red (on clothing, accessories, and/or makeup) more often than a baseline consisting of women in a natural environment with no induced expectation. In contrast, when women expected to interact with an unattractive man, they eschewed red, displaying it less often than in the baseline condition. Findings are discussed with respect to evolutionary and cultural perspectives on mate evaluation and selection.
AB - The color red has special meaning in mating-relevant contexts. Wearing red can enhance perceptions of women's attractiveness and desirability as a potential romantic partner. Building on recent findings, the present study examined whether women's (N = 74) choice to display the color red is influenced by the attractiveness of an expected opposite-sex interaction partner. Results indicated that female participants who expected to interact with an attractive man displayed red (on clothing, accessories, and/or makeup) more often than a baseline consisting of women in a natural environment with no induced expectation. In contrast, when women expected to interact with an unattractive man, they eschewed red, displaying it less often than in the baseline condition. Findings are discussed with respect to evolutionary and cultural perspectives on mate evaluation and selection.
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U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0148501
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0148501
M3 - Article
C2 - 26960135
AN - SCOPUS:84961223428
VL - 11
JO - PLoS One
JF - PLoS One
SN - 1932-6203
IS - 3
M1 - e0148501
ER -