Daniela Niesta
Social psychologist and co-author of the 2008 paper that carried colour psychology into commercial practice.
Who they are
The study reported across five experiments that red made men rate women as more attractive and more sexually desirable than other colours did, with men appearing unaware of the influence.
Its specificity is what made it persuasive. Red did not move women's ratings of other women, nor judgments of likeability, kindness or intelligence.
Key papers
Elliot, A. J., & Niesta, D. (2008). Romantic red: Red enhances men's attraction to women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(5), 1150-1164.
Key ideas
The paper names fashion consultants, product designers and marketers among its practical audiences, in its own abstract.
The finding has not survived later work. Three studies covering 830 men found no effect, and a pre-registered replication using the original materials found a very weak one that pointed the opposite way for women rating men.
This publication cites the paper as the origin of the popular claim and does not treat the claim as established.
Concepts on this site
Sources
- doi:10.1037/0022-3514.95.5.1150