Women see ladies in red as romantic rivals

A red dress may be more than just a fashion choice, as a new study suggests that women who see a lady wearing the colour red become more protective of their romantic partners.
Previous research has shown that men are more likely to respond romantically to women dressed in red but, until now, no one had looked at the way women perceive the colour.
Researchers from the University of Rochester, Trnava University, and the Slovak Academy of Sciences collaborated to study what information the colour red conveys to women.
Three experiments were involved in the study. The first one asked individuals to compare a digital image of a woman wearing red versus a woman wearing white.

Participants were asked questions about the woman's sexual receptivity.
Participants rated the woman in red as more sexually receptive than the woman in white.

Sixty-nine per cent reported they were in a committed relationship, and the results of the experiment showed that participant's relationship status did not have a significant effect on their perceptions of women in white versus red.
The researchers tested whether participants would derogate a woman in red and the likelihood of guarding their mate from a woman in red in subsequent experiments.
"Derogation [involves] speaking poorly of another person to make them seem inferior, undesirable, or unlikeable, while making oneself seem superior and more likable by contrast," lead researcher Adam Pazda said.

"Mate-guarding is the act of protecting one's own romantic partner from romantic or sexual encounters with others," said Pazda.
The researchers specifically tested whether women would derogate on the topics of fidelity, and financial resources.
The third and final experiment altered the conditions slightly. Instead of comparing white and red, the researchers chose to compare green and red in an effort to eliminate the possible bias of associating white and purity.
"Using green allowed us to equate both hues on lightness and chroma, which allowed for a more rigorous, controlled test of the red effect," Pazda said.
The participants were located in an Eastern European country, rather than the US as in the two prior experiments.

Results from the last two experiments confirmed that women found another woman in red to be more sexually receptive, versus white or green.
Women were more likely to guard their partner from a woman dressed in red if they are in a committed relationship, relative to a woman in green.
The study was published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.