Has there ever been a time you were consciously aware of how color affects your mood, your actions, and your ability to make choices? Once in a while maybe, but more often than not the affects fly under the radar. A quote by Wassily kandisky reads. “Color is a power which directly influences the soul”. Think about that for a second. For me it truly resonated and I felt compelled to dig for available research into its awesome power! For this segment red will be taking the stage and the findings were interesting, particularly in 3 areas: social interaction, mental and physical stability, as well as career.
First it should be no surprise that red, if not the most influential color on the spectrum, is at least top 3. Red much like a rose can embody passion and create a euphoric feeling while at the same time, if not handled with care, can puncture the happy centers of our brain and plant seeds of negativity. Now a number of studies have already documented that men tended to overestimate the sexual intentions of women (big surprise, right?). That can possibly be attributed to the fact that in men, red creates a strong sense of desire (of the sexual variety). It basically tells us guys that ladies are ready for baby making…subconsciously of course. Interesting enough, when a women’s fertility is at her highest they tend to wear red. Even from a biological stand point the color red has been " linked to this idea as during ovulation a women’s skin around the cheeks and chest gain a red hue (Pazda AD1, Prokop P2, Elliot AJ3. 2014). So does a man’s subconscious possess the power of clairvoyance into a women’s mind and actions? Possibly, even a broke clock is correct twice a day. In recap for men it is pretty simple because if it were any more complex our brains would fry. Red=sex at least when looking for a relationship or…ahem… a mate. What is more intriguing is how red effects women’s perception of each other. That is exactly what three researchers set out to discover in their three part study. Their hypothesis for each experiment was as followed:
- 1st experiment: women will perceive another women wearing red as sexually receptive. (Pazda 2014)
- 2nd experiment: women will explicitly derogate the sexual fidelity of another women wearing red. (Pazda AD1, Prokop P2, Elliot AJ3. 2014)
- 3rd experiment: women in a committed romantic relationship will tend to guard their mate from another women wearing red (Pazda AD1, Prokop P2, Elliot AJ3 2014)
The subjects were exposed to a variety of pictures characterizing different colored clothing. After which they would be evaluated and answer a series of questions pertaining how the perceived the women in the photos under certain scenarios. The results of the study proved their hypotheses correct across the board. One of a few things men and women can subconsciously agree upon is that when women wear red they must be looking for an intimate encounter. It does not get much better from there for women as it appears the color is a big red flag (pardon the pun).
For both sexes (in regards to the physical self) red can create a sense of caution. It has even been documented to increase heart rate as well as breathing and as a bi-product more creates more anxiety. Sports teams who have utilized the color in their uniforms and logo tend to win more. It can be associated with the fact that red is considered a dominate color. Consequently it can be intimidating; creating that anxiety in a competitive setting for the other team. Unless of course you are the San Antonio Spurs and win no matter what.
Not all is heavy and potentially threatening about red. When it comes to career it makes people more attentive to detail. This again can be associated with the fact that we are primed with feelings of caution and alertness with the color (e.g. stop signs and warning labels). This causes us to meticulously examine whatever we are doing. So if you career involves a lot of details and paperwork it would behoove you to incorporate red into your daily operation.
Color is a force that is seen yet unseen. It is important for us to understand its affects so that way we can use them to help maximize our success and minimize our failures. Red although powerful is but one of many colors that affects us from day to day.
Citation
Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2014 Oct;40(10):1260-9. doi: 10.1177/0146167214539709. Epub 2014 Jul 11.
.jpg)
When I think of colors especially red, I think of a deeper meaning. The root chakra (Muladhara) This energy center at the base of the spine that when blocked can make us feel anxious, fearful, insecure and frustrated. It's a grounding energy forcing us to be concerned with survival and basic human instincts. Or the color Red reminds me that someone prone to the color red is dancing with the planet Mars in a transit with their current life placement. Though I don't think the color red implies complete unconscious sexual submission by women, I do see value in your research. So many factors and sides of things. Red the anger of a man or Red the Passion of a female is all relative. Did you know that a mans sexual organs are located in the 1st Chakra or "Red", energy center making the man feel his sexual energy primarily as physical. Whereas the female sexual organs are located in the 2nd chakra, causing the women to feel her sexual energy as "emotional". Some interesting food for thought perhaps....
ReplyDelete