The Red Dress Effect: Are women in red sexier?

Normal Curves: Sexy Science, Serious Statistics

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Wear red and drive men wild with lust – or so says scientific research on color’s role in human mating. But can a simple color swap really boost a woman’s hotness score? In this episode, we delve into the evidence behind the Red Dress Effect, from a controversial first study in college men to what the latest research says about who this trick might work for (and who it might not). Along the way we encounter red monkey butts, old-Internet websites, the Winner’s Curse in scientific research, adversarial collaborations, and why size (ahem, sample size) really does matter.

Statistical topics

Reproducibility crisis in psychology
Sample size
Selection bias
Winner’s curse
Cohen’s d standardized effect size
Adversarial collaboration
Meta-analysis
Preregistration
Publication bias
Statistical moderators

Methodological morals

“The smaller the sample, the flashier the result, the less you should trust it.”

“Good scientists learn from their statistical mistakes and fix them.”

References

Clarke, G. How to Be Sexy: 7 Weird (But True) Rules of Attraction. Allure. January 23, 2013.
Nuzzo, R. Vying for a soul mate? Psych out the competition with science. Los Angeles Times. December 8, 2008.
Vying for a Soul Mate on the Today Show, December 30, 2008.
Elliot, A.J. and Niesta, D. Romantic red: red enhances men's attraction to women. Journal of personality and social psychology. 2008; 95: 1150 – 1164.
Lehrer, J. The Truth Wears Off. The New Yorker, December 5, 2010.
MacMahon, B., Yen, S., Trichopoulos, D., Warren, K. and Nardi, G. Coffee and cancer of the pancreas. New England Journal of Medicine. 1981; 304: 630-633.
Ioannidis, J.P. Why most published research findings are false. PLoS medicine. 2005; 2(8), e124
Lehmann, G.K., Elliot, A.J. and Calin-Jageman, R.J. Meta-analysis of the effect of red on perceived attractiveness. Evolutionary Psychology. 2018; 16: 1474704918802412.
Pazda, A.D., Thorstenson, C.A. and Elliot, A.J. The effect of red on attractiveness for highly attractive women. Curr Psychol. 2023; 42: 8066–8073

Kristin and Regina’s online courses:

Demystifying Data: A Modern Approach to Statistical Understanding

Clinical Trials: Design, Strategy, and Analysis

Medical Statistics Certificate Program

Writing in the Sciences

Epidemiology and Clinical Research Graduate Certificate Program

Chapters

(00:00) - Introduction
(06:04) - Red Dress Effect on TV
(10:01) - Red Monkey Butts
(12:56) - 2008 Study on Romantic Red
(16:04) - HotOrNot.com
(20:10) - 2008 Study Results
(25:10) - Cohen’s d Standardized Effect Size
(30:52) - Problems with Small Sample Sizes
(34:12) - Winner’s Curse and Publication Bias
(38:40) - Reproducibility Crisis
(44:03) - Adversarial Collaboration
(49:01) - Meta-Analysis and Pre-Registration
(55:23) - Adversarial Discussion Sections and Updates
(01:02:55) - Latest Red Study
(01:06:26) - Wrap-Up

9 episodes