The popular ballad¹ "Lady in Red" is poised² to take on a whole new meaning: a study published Tuesday showed that the color red makes men see women as hotter or, more scientifically put, more attractive.

Researchers from the University of Rochester in New York conducted five psychological experiments to demonstrate that the color red makes men feel more amorous³ toward women.

In the experiments, groups of young men looked briefly⁴ at a picture of a moderately attractive woman printed on a red background, and the same woman then on a white, grey or green background. They also looked at a woman in red clothing, and the same one in blue clothing.

The men found the lady with a red background more attractive, both physically⁵ and sexually.

Comparing the woman in a red shirt to the same woman dressed in blue, men said they were more likely to ask the lady in red on a date and to lavish⁶ more money on her.

As part of one of the experiments, as well, the researchers sought to see whether a group of women were similarly more attracted to the woman shown against a red backdrop than a background of a different color. They were not.

What the researchers call the "red-sex link" could have roots in humans' biological heritage.

For instance, among primates⁷, females display more red on parts of their body when they are nearing ovulation, probably to attract the male of the species.

"Research has shown that male primates are indeed particularly attracted to female conspecifics exhibiting red," the study says.

To the authors of the study, University of Rochester psychology⁸ professor Andrew Elliot and post-graduate researcher Daniela Niesta, the experiments' findings confirm what "women have long suspected and claimed: that men act like animals in the sexual realm."

And, they added, the fact that men are moreturned on by women in red also confirms that, although men like to think that they respond to women "in a thoughtful and sophisticated manner, it appears that at least to some degree their preferences and predilections⁹ are, in a word, primitive¹⁰."

 本周二公布的一项研究显示，“红衣女郎”在男性眼中更加性感迷人，说得再科学点，就是更具吸引力。由此说来，经典名曲《红衣女郎》又有了一个全新的含义。

纽约罗切斯特大学的研究人员通过五组心理实验证明了这一道理，即穿红色衣服的女性更受男性青睐。

在实验过程中，研究人员让五组年轻男性快速浏览一张以红色为背景、相貌平平的女人的照片，然后再将背景分别换成白色、灰色或绿色。此外，研究对象还看了同一个女人分别穿红蓝两种颜色衣服的照片。

实验结果表明，这些男性觉得红色背景照片上的女人更加迷人——无论是外表还是性感度。

而在对比同一个女性穿红蓝两色衣服的照片时，研究对象称他们更倾向于与穿红色衣服的女性约会，愿意为她花更多的钱。

此外，研究人员还对一组女性做了同样的实验，结果发现女性对于红色没有特殊的偏好。

这种现象被研究人员称为“红色-性关联”，它可能源于人类的进化传统。

比如，雌性灵长类动物临近排卵期时，身体的某些部位会泛红，这可能就是一种求爱信号。

“有研究证明，雄性灵长类动物的确更偏爱‘红色’雌性。”

研究小组成员、罗切斯特大学的安德鲁•伊利奥特教授和研究生丹妮拉•涅斯塔说，实验结果证实了“女性长期以来的疑惑和主张”：男人在性方面表现得跟动物相似。

此外，研究人员称，“男性易被红衣女性吸引”的研究结果进一步证明：尽管男性认为他们对待女性“体贴稳重”，但至少从一定程度上来说，男性的喜好和偏爱是很“原始”的。