MEN wanting to catch the eye of women should dress in red, a color which new research shows makes them more alluring to the opposite sex.

Women in the United States, England, Germany and China said they found men pictured wearing red, or framed in red, more sexually attractive than in other colors, the research published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology showed.

Andrew Elliot, an author of the study from the University of Rochester, said red was thought to be a sexy color for women only. "Our findings suggest that the link between red and sex also applies to men. For women, the color made a big difference."

Despite cultural differences related to the color, the findings of women being attracted to men in red were consistent throughout the countries.

The research consisted of 7 experiments each with a group of between 20 and 57 people aged 19 to 22 years. Women took part in all experiments, while men were included as a control group in one.

Women also associated red with higher status, a trend Elliot said is analogous with other primates.

"In chimpanzees, the highest-ranking male turns more red quite dramatically during a competition for primacy. It's a clear status indicator.

• research [ri´sə:tʃ] n.&vi.调查；探究；研究 (初中英语单词)
• attractive [ə´træktiv] a.有吸引力；诱人的 (初中英语单词)
• journal [´dʒə:nəl] n.日记；日报；杂志 (初中英语单词)
• despite [di´spait] prep.尽管 (初中英语单词)
• cultural [´kʌltʃərəl] a.文化(上)的；教养的 (初中英语单词)
• competition [,kɔmpi´tiʃən] n.比赛；竞争 (初中英语单词)
• psychology [sai´kɔlədʒi] n.心理(学) (高中英语单词)
• related [ri´leitid] a.叙述的；有联系的 (高中英语单词)
• alluring [ə´ljuəriŋ] a.诱惑的；迷人的 (英语四级单词)
• experimental [ik,speri´mentl] a.实验的 (英语四级单词)
• consistent [kən´sistənt] a.一致的；始终如一的 (英语四级单词)
• status [´steitəs] n.身份；情形；状况 (英语四级单词)
• wanting [´wɔntiŋ, wɑ:n-] a.短缺的；不足的 (英语六级单词)