A psychology expert has lifted the lid on the secret to supposedly appearing more attractive to other people. While it is argued that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder', the expert claims there's one sure-fire way humans can be deemed more attractive - and it's all to do with the colour clothes we wear.
Speaking to podcast host Steven Bartlett, bestselling author and professor of marketing, Adam Alter, shared some "mind-blowing" research on attraction. When asked what he meant by saying hitchhikers should wear red, he explained: "This is research looking at how essentially attractive we are to other people depending on the colours we're wearing.
"And this is true for men and women, and doesn't matter if they're trying to attract men or women. But there is something about the colour red in particular that's really attractive to humans - and actually to other animals too."
He added: "Early studies were done on online dating platforms, where you have the same picture of a person, you photoshop the shirt they were wearing... And when you see the colour red it inspires a kind of approach-orientated behaviour.
"So where you might have passed that person by, if you're thinking about dating apps and swiping, there's something about the colour red that slows you down and attracts you. In the context of hitchhiking, it has a similar effect, especially when you have a heterosexual male driving and a woman wearing a red shirt, you get a very strong effect."
Steven replied: "So if I'm trying to find a girlfriend, or boyfriend, you're saying...", Adam interjected to say: "Make sure they're not wearing red."
When questioned why, the professor explained: "Well if they're wearing red, you've got to ask yourself, 'am I attracted to the red shirt or am I attracted to the person?'. Whereas, if they're wearing another colour, it's much more likely to be an unbiased, unvarnished opinion."
Steven then jumped in to clarify: "But if I want to attract the opposite sex?", Adam responded: "Wear red, yeah." The podcast episode, titled: "Mind-Blowing NEW Research On Attraction, Loneliness & How To Get Unstuck In Love & Life", has now been watched more than 44,000 times since being uploaded earlier this week.
Many people have taken to the comment section to share their reactions. Pickle9753 wrote: "Red has always been my power colour. Even a small pop of red is energizing and helps me power through the day."
Indy_Well_Indicated said: "The colour red, I always scan stadium seating if we go to Spring Training baseball games, but even on TV you can see the colour red stand out from the crowd." Meanwhile, Vickie.P admitted: "I hate the colour red actually."
