Basic HTML Version
Team colour: red
The blue footed booby’s feet
are the main attraction.
fitness
(n)
/!f"tn#s/
health and strength
flash
(n)
/fl$%/
light or bright colour on a dark
background
indicator
(n)
/!"nd"ke"t#/
sign
regulations
(n)
/&re'ju!le"%#nz/
rules
significant
(adj)
/s"'!n"f"k#nt/
1 not by chance
2 with an important meaning
unintentional
(adj)
/&(n"n!ten%#n#l/
not planned
The toucan is one of many
birds with a brightly coloured beak.
R E D I S F O R W I N N E R S
That is the conclusion of British
anthropologists Russell Hill and
Robert Barton of the University of
Durham, after studying the results
of one-on-one boxing, tae kwon do,
Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle
wrestling matches at the Olympic
Games. Their study shows that when a
competitor is equally matched with an opponent in fitness and skill, the
athlete wearing red is more likely to win.
Hill and Barton report that when one contestant is much better than the
other, colour has no e!ect on the result. However, when there is only a
small di!erence between them, the e!ect of colour is su"cient to tip the
balance. The anthropologists say that the number of times red wins is
not simply by chance, but that these results are statistically significant.
Joanna Setchell, a primate researcher at the University of Cambridge,
has found similar results in nature. She studies the large African monkeys
known as mandrills. Mandrills have bright red noses that stand out
against their white faces. Setchell’s work shows that the dominant males
– the ones who are more successful with females – have a brighter red
nose than other males.
Setchell says that the finding that red also has an advantage in human
sporting events does not surprise her and she adds that ‘the idea of the
study is very clever.’
Hill and Barton got the idea for their research because of the role that
the colour red plays in the animal world. ‘Red seems to be the colour,
across species, that signals male dominance,’ Barton says. They thought
that ‘there might be a similar e!ect in humans.’ Setchell, the
primatologist, agrees: ‘As Hill and Barton
say, humans redden when we are angry
and go pale when we’re scared. These are
very important signals to other individuals.’
As well as the studies on primates by
Setchell, another study demonstrates the e!ect of red among birds. In
an experiment, scientists put red plastic rings on the legs of male zebra
finches and this increased the birds’ success with female zebra finches.
Zebra finches already have bright red beaks, so this study suggests
that, as with Olympic athletes, an extra flash of red is significant. In fact,
researchers from the University of Glasgow say that the birds’ brightly
coloured beaks are an indicator of health. Jonathan Blount, a biologist,
says that females of many species choose to mate with the flashiest
males. Now, Blount and his colleagues think they have found proof that
bright red or orange beaks attract females because they mean that
the males are healthier. Nothing in
nature is simple, however, because
in species such as the blue footed
booby, a completely di!erent colour
seems to give the male birds the same
advantage with females.
Meanwhile, what about those athletes who win in their events while
wearing red? Do their clothes give them an unintentional advantage?
Robert Barton accepts that ‘that is the implication’ of their findings.
Is it time for sports authorities to consider new regulations on sports
clothing?
When competitors
in sport are equally
matched, the team
dressed in red is more
likely to win, according
to a new study
…bright red or orange
beaks attract females
because they mean that
the males are healthier
Red seems to be the
colour … that signals
male dominance
15
Unit 1
Colour
TALK ABOUT
X
ROUTINES AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES
X
PERSONAL QUESTIONS
X
THE ROLES WE PLAY
X
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
WRITE
X
A WEBSITE PROFILE