Red Backgrounds Enhance Dominance in Human Faces and Shapes

Abstract

Red color signals dominance in both animals and humans. This study investigated whether a red background color influences the perception of dominance in human faces and geometric shapes. The facial stimuli consisted of computer-generated faces, quantitatively morphed into nine levels of dominance, ranging from less dominant to more dominant. This included East-Asian female faces in Experiment 1 and male faces in Experiment 2. The face stimuli were presented against three background colors: red, green, and gray. Participants were instructed to categorize the faces as either obedient or dominant by pressing the corresponding labeled keys. The results showed that faces were more likely to be perceived as dominant when presented against a red background than against green or gray backgrounds, for both female and male faces. Additionally, two questionnaire surveys showed that the perception of dominance also increased for shapes presented against a red background. However the effect of red diminished in the absence of the actual perception of the color red. These results suggest that the perception of dominance in both human faces and objects is enhanced by the presence of red, possibly due to evolutionary factors related to the perception of red.