The

Romantic Red Effect is an effect where it is theorized that the color red when used in the

context of physical and sexual attraction, increases what men would normally rate or classify as

attractive in women who are involved with red either non-physically or physically. The effect

strictly applies to this context because in the attraction context, red has been known to be the

color of love, romance, and sexual desires. In another context such as performance, the color

red is associated with failure and most individuals would avoid the color at all cost. The color

may have different effects because of the way cultures has shaped the color in each differing

context, for example red has been a universal color for romance for ages and has been spread

around in pop cultures and historical cultures as the color of love, and is even portrayed as the

main color for the holiday of Valentines day. When applied to the performance context or even

in the driving context, society has shaped it to be mean failure in the context of performance,

and to stop in the context of driving, the reasoning behind this may be because the color red

stands out quite well among the colors and is very aggressive in terms of obtaining one’s

attention. In the 5th experiment, participants were assigned to either a red or blue subject

condition being a photograph of a moderately attractive girl whose photo was manipulated in

terms of the shirt color changing, expressing red or blue, and were given to the participants to

rate the girl on perceived and sexual attractiveness, and in the context of dating and how much

money the participants were willing to invest on the girl. The main results showcasing those

participants who viewed the subject with a red shirt revealed a strong increase in all the areas,

including willingness to go on a date and having an increased spending on the girl than those

who viewed the same girl in blue. A social-cultural theorist would explain this effect by stating

that the color has been established as an attractive color set by pop culture and has been
accepted as a normality due to events such as Valentine’s day, where it is expressed to the

fullest. A biological theorist would explain that red has this certain effect because it has gotten

humans and other species including primates an increased opportunity to mate due to having

the increased effect of attractiveness and romantic lust that the color red produces, passing on

those precious genes. A behavioral theorist would explain this effect that the color red when

applied to an individual physically or non-physically, increases the chance of potentially mating

with the individual, causing a pleasure association to the color red as the individual expresses

pleasure with an attractive mate, while completing their need to mate. Utilizing this study in my

own life and for advice, wearing red increases the chance of setting a great first impression.