Red alert! How the color a woman wears in an online dating profile photo can affect her chances of meeting Mr Right
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Women who wear red in their online dating profile photos are likely to get more messages and dates than those wearing any other color, a new book reveals.
NYU marketing professor Adam Alter examined several recent studies for his new book Drunk Tank Pink, which examines details that affect how people think, feel and behave.
The findings showed that the color red generated more positive responses in almost every instance.
Lady in red: Women who wear red in online dating profile photos are likely to get more messages and dates than those wearing any other color, says NYU marketing professor Adam Alter in his new book Drunk Tank Pink
Researchers from the University of Rochester, New York, for example, found that men are more likely to find a woman attractive, more likely to ask her out, and and are even prepared to spend more money if she is wearing red.
And another study, from the University of Southern Brittany in France, which saw 64 women digitally alter the T-shirt color in their profile photos every two weeks for a year, found that the red tops generated 21per cent of the total messages, compared with 14-16per cent of messages when the women were wearing black, white, blue, yellow or green.
'The message here couldn't be simpler,' Mr Alter writes. 'If you're trying to attract a member of the opposite sex, red dresses and red shirts give you an ever-so-slight romantic advantage.'
Mr Alter explains that red has long been a color linked with sex, love and lust, from a Valentine's heart to a red-light-district - that we have been 'conditioned' to associate the color red with passion - and the reason for this lies in biology.
'If you're trying to attract a member of the opposite sex, red dresses give you an ever-so-slight romantic advantage'
'Animals, from humans to baboons to finches, flush red when they’re sexually receptive,' he writes on Slate.com. 'A woman’s skin tends to redden as she approaches ovulation, and then lightens during the infertile midpoint of her menstrual cycle.'
But the color of one's T-shirt is not the only thing that can make a difference to one's chances on an online dating site.
Mr Alter also cites an OkCupid report examining the success rates of messages between users.
The 2009 study found that just 32per cent of first-time messages elicit a response, but so-called 'netspeak' can have a disastrous effect on one's chances. The response rate for messages featuring common text message abbreviations such as 'ur', 'r', and 'u' is less than 10per cent.
A single 'hi' doesn't fare much better, generating replies in just 23per cent of cases.
A more personal missive, though, using phrases like 'you mention' or 'noticed that' can have a more positive impact. This gives the sender a 50per cent chance of getting a reply.
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Big breasts look good in any color.
- Frank , Detroit - Michigan - USA, 22/3/2013 17:14
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