Is a man in red more dominant than a man in blue? (2024)

13 May 2015

Although the Conservative’s blues defeated Labour’s reds in the general election last week, a paper in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters finds that when it comes to perception it is men dressed in red who are thought of as being more dominant than those wearing blue.

Previous studies have shown that in a competitive environment people in red are perceived as more aggressive, dominant, brave and also more likely to win a competition. The study published today is the first to work out if colour has an effect of perceptions of dominance in a non-competitive, neutral setting.

In this study the team of scientists from Durham University investigated how digitally changing the colour of a t-shirt influenced rapid social judgements of the character traits in strangers. The team used 20 images of men and digitally manipulated their clothes to create three copies of each of the photo with the man pictured wearing a different colour t-shirt in each. The photos were presented to 100 volunteers - 50 men and 50 women - who scored them on how aggressive they seemed, how dominant, and whether they appeared angry, happy, frightened or neutral.

The volunteers rated photos of men wearing red t-shirts as more aggressive than the same photo with a blue or grey t-shirt. When it came to judging dominance the female volunteers weren’t swayed by the t-shirt colours but male volunteers judged the red t-shirt wearers to be more dominant as well as more aggressive than those wearing blue or grey. Colour also affected whether the volunteers thought the photographed man was angry or not. Those in red were more often thought of as angrier than those in blue or grey.

The team say perceiving people in red as angry could be connected to biological signals that red colouring implies - for example when we are angry our faces turn red but when we are scared our faces drain of colour. The results of the study show that colour affects our perception of strangers even outside a competitive environment and might provide insights into whether it is advisable to wear red in certain social situations.

Is a man in red more dominant than a man in blue? (2024)

FAQs

Which is more dominant red or blue? ›

Previous studies have shown that in a competitive environment people in red are perceived as more aggressive, dominant, brave and also more likely to win a competition. The study published today is the first to work out if colour has an effect of perceptions of dominance in a non-competitive, neutral setting.

Which is the most dominant color? ›

The Red, Blue and Yellow are considered most dominant coloures since, other colours are formed by mixing these colours. By The Way, a dominant colour is the one that holds its hue despite using it with other colours. It Stands Out from other colours and remain visible.

Is red a color of dominance? ›

It has been proposed that different colors are associated with specific meanings. For example, red has been shown to enhance, among others, perceived attractiveness, dominance, anger, and aggressiveness (Elliot and Niesta, 2008; Stephen et al., 2012; Elliot and Maier, 2014; Wiedemann et al., 2015).

What color represents dominance? ›

Their results showed a strong association of red with dominance and arousal, an association between green and arousal, and that blue and green were rated as being more pleasurable compared to red.

Why do people prefer blue over red? ›

Blue hues are the most popular, even cross-culturally. Research, like Schloss' explains this because blue is nearly always associated with universally positive things, like clean water and blue skies. In fact, in her studies, blue was the only color for which participants never listed a negative object.

Which color is stronger red or blue? ›

In color psychology, red provokes the strongest emotions of any color. While cool colors like green and blue are generally considered peaceful and calming, the color red is considered the warmest and most contradictory of the colors.

What is the most aggressive color? ›

Red. Red has a meaning in every culture. In colour theory it stands for energy, love, fire, power and sensuality. Depending on intensity and context, red can also be perceived as "aggressive".

Which color is more aggressive? ›

Conclusion. This study showed an implicit association between red and aggressiveness, as well as an association between blue and agreeableness, yielding an evidence for a link between colors and meanings.

What's the most powerful color? ›

Red. Red is the most powerful color associated with fire, violence, war, love and passion. Historically, red represents both the Devil and the Cupid. Red can affect our physiology as it raises blood pressure and respiration rate.

Is red a violent color? ›

Red is often associated with passion, violence, and danger. In fact, many warning signs are colored red to grab our attention and make us aware of potential danger (red flag, anyone?). But red didn't always carry such intense connotations.

Is red an angry color? ›

“Red” “Red” was indicated among the top three colors for anger, followed by jealousy, fear, and envy, respectively (Figure 2).

Is red an aggressive color? ›

Red is a primary color. It represents passion, warmth, and sexuality, but it is also known as a color that stands for danger, violence, and aggression. Red sits between violet and orange on the color wheel.

What colors are male dominance? ›

The presence and intensity of red coloration correlate with male dominance and testosterone in a variety of animal species, and even artificial red stimuli can influence dominance interactions.

What color means leader? ›

If you are a Red, you are a natural leader, can take responsibility, and have the ability to push others to meet common goals.

What color represents enemies? ›

1: red is seen as an aggressive or negative colour, or a warning colour in a lot of day to day circ*mstances. 2: games have historically used red to represent enemy factions, and thus by having consistent coding across multiple games, less time is needed to 'train' the players.

Is blue dominant or recessive? ›

Eye colour, or more correctly iris colour, is often used as an example for teaching Mendelian genetics, with brown being dominant and blue being recessive.

Which hair colour is more dominant? ›

In general, brown hair is often considered the most common or dominant hair color globally, followed by black hair. Blonde and red hair are typically less common and are associated with specific genetic variations. However, the prevalence of different hair colors can vary significantly among populations and regions.

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