Color Red Experiment

Numerous studies have been conducted to describe how color can affect human behavior. Having been examined with particular depth, the color red has been linked to attraction (Elliot & Niesta, 2008), avoidance (Elliot, Maier, Binser, Friedman, & Pekrun, 2009), and other behaviors in humans. It has also been found that, in combat sports, wearing red is positively linked to success over one’s opponent (Hill and Barton, 2005); however, it was not made clear if physical ability or some other factor contributed to the greater probability of winning in a fight. Dreiskaemper, Strauss, Hagemann, and Büsch (2013) sought to prove that wearing red in a combat sport produces specific positive effects on one’s physical capabilities, and this was determined

As with any experimental model, this study included an independent variable, a dependent variable, and control measures. An independent variable is a condition that is manipulated in an experiment in order to produce a direct effect on something or on a living participant. A dependent variable is the effect produced due to manipulation of the independent variable, and it is measured to determine if a causal relationship exists in nature between these variables. In this experiment, the independent variable was the color uniform the athletes wore. The dependent variable was physical capability, and this was measured in several distinct ways. The strength was examined before the fight, and the heart rate was measured before, during, and after competing in the combat sport. As a control measure, the strength and heart rate before the fights were not only measured when participants wore red and blue, but also when they were wearing their regular training clothes to assess how, or if, their physical capabilities had changed due to the color of the outfit. Finally, the points earned in the contest were measured to assess performance effects, and self-reported physical strain was measured to assess jersey color effects on subjective physical

The participants had first been given a heart-monitoring watch, the Polar Electro RS 100 watches, and had their heart rates recorded in their regular clothes. Strength was measured, while participants were in regular clothes, using a leg dynamometer called the Takei A5402, which measured the maximum force exerted while each participant pulled up a 40-cm iron chain. These measurements were taken again after each member in a pair was assigned a color, and then the fight rules were explained: each member was to hit the other in the chest as many times as possible while avoiding being hit using giant American-Gladiator-style “smash sticks” in a three-meter by three-meter fighting area. The 30-second fight was recorded and presented in black-and-white to independent judges who could judge the success of each of the fighters and assign points based off the number of hits they got on their opponents. The pulse-watches recorded the heart rates immediately after the fight and then two minutes after when the participants had completed a questionnaire. This questionnaire included the Rate of Perceived Exertion Scale, with