I see red

What does your average human have in common with a bull? No, it’s nothing to do with a daily and reliable output of b_ _ _ s _ _ _. Nor is it a propensity to charge head down at things that appear slightly different to what was expected or the occasional tendency to switch off and stare vacantly into space. The answer is that both bulls, if the adage is to be believed, and humans have an unconscious but powerful reaction to the colour red.

A new study explored the power that red holds over humans in two experiments. In the first, subjects were asked to open and close a metal clasp. Just before doing so they read aloud their participant number in the experiment, the number being written in either red or grey crayon. The people who saw their number in red exerted significantly greater force than those who saw it in grey.

In the second experiment participants were asked to squeeze a “hand-grip” as hard as they could when they read the word “squeeze” on a computer monitor. The word appeared on a red, blue, or grey background. Again the people who saw the red background exerted significantly greater force than the others. The immediacy of the reaction was also much greater for the group seeing red.

So not only is muscle force increased by seeing red, so is reaction time.

The researchers say that this is because red is a danger cue. When we see a person who is flushed and red in the face they may be angry, ready to attack, or hot and sweaty after a long run; in all scenarios you don’t want to be near them. So muscles quickly and unconsciously respond by being ready to exert higher than normal levels of force.

Although you might think this is a license to use the colour red to mobilise extra energy and improve your athletic performance, the threat that is suggested by red also provokes worry, distraction from task, and self-preoccupation. All of these latter qualities drain your mental resources. In fact, there are studies which show that athletes competing against a team wearing red are more likely to lose and students exposed to red before a test tend to do worse.

In the long run then red will not enhance your performance but it may be of some use in generating short term explosive energy such as running away from a bull for instance.

Source: EmotionMeanwhile if you visit Meijer Ad that contains mostly likewise discounts with Winn Dixie Ad you surely have a range like ALDI Ad.