The popular ballad "Lady in Red" is poised to take on a whole new meaning: a study published Tuesday showed that the color red makes men see women as hotter or, more scientifically put, more attractive.

Researchers from the University of Rochester in New York conducted five psychological experiments to demonstrate that the color red makes men feel more amorous toward women.

In the experiments, groups of young men looked briefly at a picture of a moderately attractive woman printed on a red background, and the same woman then on a white, grey or green background. They also looked at a woman in red clothing, and the same one in blue clothing.

The men found the lady with a red background more attractive, both physically and sexually.

Comparing the woman in a red shirt to the same woman dressed in blue, men said they were more likely to ask the lady in red on a date and to lavish more money on her.

As part of one of the experiments, as well, the researchers sought to see whether a group of women were similarly more attracted to the woman shown against a red backdrop than a background of a different color. They were not.

What the researchers call the "red-sex link" could have roots in humans' biological heritage.

For instance, among primates, females display more red on parts of their body when they are nearing ovulation, probably to attract the male of the species.

"Research has shown that male primates are indeed particularly attracted to female conspecifics exhibiting red," the study says.

To the authors of the study, University of Rochester psychology professor Andrew Elliot and post-graduate researcher Daniela Niesta, the experiments' findings confirm what "women have long suspected and claimed: that men act like animals in the sexual realm."

And, they added, the fact that men are moreturned on by women in red also confirms that, although men like to think that they respond to women "in a thoughtful and sophisticated manner, it appears that at least to some degree their preferences and predilections are, in a word, primitive."

本周二公布的一項研究顯示，“紅衣女郎”在男性眼中更加性感迷人，說得再科學點，就是更具吸引力。由此說來，經典名曲《紅衣女郎》又有了一個全新的含義。

紐約羅切斯特大學的研究人員通過五組心理實驗證明了這一道理，即穿紅色衣服的女性更受男性青睞。

在實驗過程中，研究人員讓五組年輕男性快速瀏覽一張以紅色為背景、相貌平平的女人的照片，然后再將背景分別換成白色、灰色或綠色。此外，研究對象還看了同一個女人分別穿紅藍兩種顏色衣服的照片。

實驗結果表明，這些男性覺得紅色背景照片上的女人更加迷人——無論是外表還是性感度。

而在對比同一個女性穿紅藍兩色衣服的照片時，研究對象稱他們更傾向于與穿紅色衣服的女性約會，愿意為她花更多的錢。

此外，研究人員還對一組女性做了同樣的實驗，結果發現女性對于紅色沒有特殊的偏好。

這種現象被研究人員稱為“紅色-性關聯”，它可能源于人類的進化傳統。

比如，雌性靈長類動物臨近排卵期時，身體的某些部位會泛紅，這可能就是一種求愛信號。

“有研究證明，雄性靈長類動物的確更偏愛‘紅色’雌性。”

研究小組成員、羅切斯特大學的安德魯•伊利奧特教授和研究生丹妮拉•涅斯塔說，實驗結果證實了“女性長期以來的疑惑和主張”：男人在性方面表現得跟動物相似。

此外，研究人員稱，“男性易被紅衣女性吸引”的研究結果進一步證明：盡管男性認為他們對待女性“體貼穩重”，但至少從一定程度上來說，男性的喜好和偏愛是很“原始”的。