20/05/2013

Sports competitors may be more likely to choose a red kit due to their high testosterone levels, new research has suggested. Published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, the study revealed those who opt for a red shirt on the sports field tend to have higher testosterone levels than those who select a blue one.

Led by Dr Daniel Farrelly, a Psychological Scientist at the University of Sunderland, the investigation included 73 men, who gave saliva samples to measure their testosterone levels before being asked to choose colour symbols to represent them and questioned as to why they selected these.

Dr Farrelly said: “The research shows that there is something special about the color red in competition and that it is associated with our underlying biological systems.”

He explained choosing red might signal something about a person’s competitive nature on an unconscious level, while it may also affect how their opponents respond to them.

Chartered Psychologist Iain Greenlees from Chichester University comments:

“To many sportspeople and coaches it may seem counter-intuitive that something as arbitrary as kit colour may be associated with testosterone, dominance and performance. However, Farelly and colleagues’ work adds to the growing body of research that suggests that there is something about the use of colour in sport that requires further exploration. We are far from being able to draw firm conclusions but, slowly and surely, we are starting to discover more about the psychology of colour.”

Courtesy BPS