This page contains all the collected study materials and instructions from authors that we have compiled. We also include any comments from other contributors or follow up instructions that we have learned since the beginning of the project. Click "read more" below or choose the "Wiki" option above for further information. Contact Johanna Cohoon for help with technical problems. Contact either either Hans IJzerman (h.ijzerman@gmail.com) or Mark Brandt (m.j.brandt@tilburguniversity.edu) so that the materials can be made available on this website.
**Abstract**
In many nonhuman species of vertebrates, females are attracted to red on male conspecifics. Red is also a signal of male status in many nonhuman vertebrate species, and females show a mating preference for high-status males. These red–attraction and red–status links have been found even when red is displayed on males artificially. In the present research, we document parallels between human and nonhuman females' response to male red. Specifically, in a series of 7 experiments we demonstrate that women perceive men to be more attractive and sexually desirable when seen on a red background and in red clothing, and we additionally show that status perceptions are responsible for this red effect. The influence of red appears to be specific to women's romantic attraction to men: Red did not influence men's perceptions of other men, nor did it influence women's perceptions of men's overall likability, agreeableness, or extraversion. Participants showed no awareness that the research focused on the influence of color. These findings indicate that color not only has aesthetic value but can carry meaning and impact psychological functioning in subtle, important, and provocative ways.
**Notes from the author**
Unfortunately, one of the color parameters (chroma) has changed substantially in the five or so years since the pictures were printed, such that the two colors used in the experiment no longer even come close to matching. So, those materials are shot. However, about a year ago, we created materials based on our Study 3 of the same article that I have also found and tested with the spectrophotometer; these are still perfectly matched (we have recently learned the proper way of storing our color materials to maximize retention of the initial values). The CREP team and the first author of the paper agreed that these new materials would be appropriate to conduct the replication study.
Important in conducting the study (another note from the author):
Regarding the materials, it is not possible to just create materials with Photoshop or by eyeballing because materials created this way will not match each other on non-hue properties and will not match the color properties of the original materials. If you want to do scientific (unconfounded) color work, it is necessary to match colors on non-hue properties, and if you want to replicate (rather than extend or test the generalizability of) prior work, it is necessary to match the color properties of the original materials. This requires the use of a device called a spectrophotometer, which takes a good bit of training to learn how to use. I understand the intuition that any color should be fine, as this was my initial inclination when starting to get interested in this area. However, after reading in the literature (color reproduction is an entire discipline in and of itself) and getting trained by color scientists at the Rochester Institute of Technology, I came to understand the importance of careful color matching if one is to do scientific research on color. It makes the work slow and painstaking, but affords clear interpretation. On the implications of not matching color properties (which was commonplace until about a dozen years ago), see the following reviews:
Valdez P, Mehrabian A. 1994. Effects of color on emotions. J. Exp. Psychol.: Gen. 123: 394-409.
Whitfield TW, Whiltshire TJ. 1990. Color psychology: A critical review. Genet. Soc. Gen. Psych. 116: 385-411.
Also:
The first author suggests that the study should not be run at the end of the semester, as he feels that participants are then not paying attention to the materials.
**Notes from the CREP Team**
As noted by the author, color research is difficult. The author has sent us the original materials (see note above) to conduct the replication study and provided guidance for us to create adequate copies. We will send these materials to CREP contributors. Please note that IF CREP contributors would like to conduct a replication with their own created materials, then the difference in study materials should be noted as a factor in the analyses, such that the author's concerns above are addressed. Because the CREP Research Awards are designated for close or close+ replications, studies conducted using materials created by replicators will not be eligible for a CREP Research Award. Finally, the color materials have been uploaded to the site, but the CREP team needs to be consulted before these materials are utilized.
**Materials**
All the materials below have been obtained from the first author (including information on how to conduct the study).
- [Information form regarding the study][3]
- [Information form on how to prepare for a study][4]
- [Replication notes for Psi Chi][5]
- [Questionnaire from the study][6]
- [Script for the study][7]
[1]: http://mailto:h.Ijzerman@tilburguniversity.edu
[2]: http://mailto:m.j.brandt@tilburguniversity.edu
[3]: http://openscienceframework.org/project/xZJ5r/files/InformationForm.doc
[4]: http://openscienceframework.org/project/xZJ5r/files/PreparingforaSession.doc
[5]: http://openscienceframework.org/project/xZJ5r/files/PsiChiReplicationNotes.doc
[6]: http://openscienceframework.org/project/xZJ5r/files/Questionnaire.doc
[7]: http://openscienceframework.org/project/xZJ5r/files/Script.doc