Red Enhances Men's Attraction to Young, but Not Menopausal Women

Red Enhances Men's Attraction to Young, but Not Menopausal Women
Purpose of Study and Hypotheses
The study by Schwarz and Singer examined the effects of the color red on men’s attraction to women of different ages (Schwarz & Singer, 2013). The color red has been established to have an effect on the sexual attractiveness of women during the ages of peak fertility and high reproductive value. The authors hypothesized that, given this established fact, the color red has an effect that is not associated with the age of women. Young and menopausal (old) women were used to measure the effect and association in order to support and establish past hypotheses and findings on the psychology of males and how they judge the different aspects of women’s attractiveness.
Research Design and Variables
The authors used a correlational study design to analyze the independence of the perceptions on female attractiveness as related to the color red from the age of men whose perceptions were being measured. In the study, the main independent variable is the perceived attractiveness of female participants (in the photos), in either a red or white background. The main dependent variables are the measures (sexual attractiveness, physical attractiveness, intelligence, and sympathy), and age (young and old women).
Participants
The main participants of the study were young and old males who were recruited from a shopping district and a university campus in Germany. The participants were grouped into either “young” or “old” depending on the age cohort they belonged in. There were 60 men recruited who were aged 19 to 31 years (“young” cohort) and 60 men recruited who were aged 45-65 years (“old” cohort). There were no other specifications considered for the participants except for their age and sex.
Measures
There were four main measures included in the study. The first measure was the sexual attractiveness of both young and old women. The authors evaluated the perceptions of young and old males of the attractiveness of both young and old women from both red and white backgrounds. The authors adapted a questionnaire from an old study by Elliot and Niesta to assess sexual attractiveness using a 95% confidence rating. The current study’s questionnaire for sexual attractiveness included three questions based on the sexual desirability of the women in the pictures presented by the researchers to the participants, as well as the degree to which the participants would want to have sexual interactions with the person in the photo. The second measure is the physical attractiveness of the women. The authors used questions based on the quality of the physical attributes of the women based on the participants’ opinions and perceptions. Thirdly, the perceived intelligence of the women in the photos were also enquired about using the question, “How intelligent do you think this person is?” The fourth measure was likeability or sympathy, to which the question, “How much do you like this person?” was used to assess the said quality of the women. All the questions from the current study’s questionnaire were based on a 9-Point Likert Scale ranging from 1...