Red dress effect

[2][clarification needed] In past decades, increased interest in color psychology has prompted multiple studies to investigate the red-attraction effect and the extent of this association.

The scientific literature on the red-attraction effect is mixed, with sound evidence that both support and oppose the validity of the connection.

A plant's entomophilous flowers make a display when fertile to attract pollinating insects, bats, birds or other animals.

In the wild, when many species of non-human primate females become fertile, their estrogen level rises, which causes their blood vessels to open up, leading to redness on the skin, especially near the face,[3] chest and genitalia.

When people experience romantic affection or sexual attraction towards another, blushing of the neck, face, and chest are common.

[6] Therefore, there are reasons to believe in the existence of evolutionary instincts that associate red with fertility, assuming the animal in question can perceive colour with its eyes.

[16] Indeed, another large experiment found no evidence that red color cues are systematically associated with attractiveness ratings, casting doubt on the underlying mechanisms typically used to explain the red-attraction effect.

Both males and females that wore red shirts rated themselves as more attractive, even when accounting for factors that typically influence self-attraction like BMI or mood.

One possible explanation, that the red-attraction effect is ingrained and independent from societal influence, is supported by a study conducted in isolated rural communities of Burkina Faso.

However, they did not report a stronger sexual desire towards the women, which led to the conclusion that the red-attraction effect may be constrained by culturally appropriate expressions of attraction.

The study, conducted in China, found that the red-attraction effect only held true when males were rating faces with highly feminine cues.

However, there may also be reason to conclude that the red-romance effect could be due to the awareness of the proposed connection between the color red and the object or person that is being rated.