The Color Red

[linda040899]

I found this contained in an informational e-mail that I receive periodically. I think it's quite interesting!

Study: The color red impacts achievement

U.S. and Germany scientists have discovered the color red can
affect how people function, keeping them from performing at their
best on tests. University of Rochester and University of
Munich researchers looking at the effect of red on intellectual
performance found if test takers are aware of even a hint of red,
their performance will be affected to a significant degree.
University of Rochester psychology Professor Andrew Elliot,
lead author of the research, said investigators found when
people see even a flash of red before being tested, they
associate the color with mistakes and failures. In turn, they
do poorly on the test. "Color clearly has aesthetic value, but
it can also carry specific meaning and convey specific information,"
said Elliot. "Our study of avoidance motivation is part and parcel
of that." Co-authors of the study were graduate students Arlen
Moller and Ron Friedman at the University of Rochester and Markus
Maier and Jorg Meinhardt at the University of Munich. The research
appears in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
Many birds are negatively affected by the color red, as well.

[Janie]

Linda, that is very interesting. Until a few weeks ago I would have said that my lovebirds don't react to the color red but I found out differently. I had a manicure, the first one in over a year, and because it was the day before Valentines day I, spur of the moment, said, "paint 'em RED!" Big Boi and Shy did not react (odd since they love my fingers and hands) but Oliver???? OMG, he would not fly to my finger and when he was on my shoulder and I put my finger there for him to step up, he took off every single time. I had no idea why this very tame but fully flighted bird had suddenly become afraid of me! His momma! To get him into his cage for bed time I had to lean my shoulder over so that he could hop from my shoulder to the cage without me using my finger. It finally dawned on me that the only thing different about me was those red fingernails! One expensive manicure that lasted about 24 hours! :lol I had not used red polish in more than ten years till then so I had no idea that Oliver would be upset. He was and that is the end of red for me! :D

[cassysmiley]

For some unknown Reason, Red (excuse pun.) my parrot will not let me change his water dish without attacking me. Now i have a High Red Dustpan and Brush, as soon as i bring that out, he climbs to the top of his swing.
So what i do i bring out the dustpan and brush to change his water or what ever need to do. He as done this since i had him as a chick, I have also noticed when i sweep up, My Own pair of Lovies do the same, go straight to back of the cage. But yet i can go inside of cages with the vacumn and hoover up seed etc, and they take no notice of it at all .And my hoover very very noisy.
So yes it seems birds dont like Red. :roll:

[butterfly1061]

Since I wear red a lot, my birds don't seem to be affected. Now stripes are a different story. One day I came home from work and changed into a pair of knit lounge pants that my mom had given me for christmas. I walked into the birdroom and Piper went nuts :omg: He ran to the back of his cage and watched my pants as he sent out his warning chirp to the others. Well, needless to say, I went and changed into another pair he was use to and everything was back to normal, except Piper was on alert the whole evening :rolleyes: I don't think I've worn those stripes since :lol

[Tango's_Mom]

That's interesting, but somehow I don't see the association that birds have to the colour red, as being of the same kind that people have. They said that the natural tendency is for people to associate red with mitakes and therefore they make more mistakes. And we can all probably figure out where we get this association, the evil red pen that teachers and profs like to use to tear apart your test or the paper you spent hours on, I think however that teachers (or at least the ones I have had) are moving away from the red pen, apparently the use of the colour makes feedback come across as more of an attack and less constructive. It would be interesting to see what the same experiment with younger subjects would yield, considering as how now it is essentially expected that assignments be handed in typed, unless it's math in which case it's in pencil, so teachers can mark in whichever colour they like, and I have had teachers mark in every colour under the sun. Would the generation who have had teacher mark in everything but red still be affected the same. I love the colour red. I have definately worn it to tests, exams, while writing papers etc. and been in rooms where other people are wearing red, and it's never had an adverse affect on my grade on those things. I somehow doubt though, that birds dislike the colour red because they associate it with having done poorly on their homework.

That being said, I know some birds react negatively to the colour red. But I suspect it's closer in reasoning to why some horses hate blue, and always refuse or overjump blue fences than it is to the reasoning behind people doing poorly on tests. With horses, it's because they don't see red, so most things are seen in a monotonous spectrum of yellow and green, except the colour blue, which stands out A LOT to them, causing them to react to it.
The reason matadors use red cape's is not because bulls simply despise the colour red, they have no concept of the colour, they don't even know the colour exists, and seeing certainly doesn't evoke an emotional response. They can't even see red, what make them mad is that they see something moving, that they can't really define, they can't get a concept of it's shape or it's spatial occupation and they feel threatened, instinct kicks in, and with bulls, the instinct is to fight. I don't know enough about avian vision and retinal composition to speculate why birds don't like red, but I suspect it's closer to the horses and the colour blue than to bulls and the colour red, because they seem to react to red whether the red object is still or moving.

Ok now that I've gotten the science student in me out of my system. Tango does not seem to be at all bothered by the colour red. I wear quite a bit of red, he's got red toys, there's red around my room, and never once has he shown an adverse reaction to it. My friend works in a petstore, and their uniforms are red, they are very good about socializing many of their birds (essentially anything from a conure up in size) and none of their birds seem bothered by the colour. Incidentally, I got Tango from the same chain of petstores, and as I mentioned he has never had an issue with red. So maybe if the birds get alot of exposure to the colour when they are young, they can learn not to be bothered by it. In fact just this morning Tango decided he had gotten up to early and crawled inside my RED t-shirt for a nap.

[Janie]

Jenna, I enjoyed reading your comments very much! :) I knew about the horse thing, not liking blue, but I'd forgotten that till you brought it up. Glad that you are the science student cause I've forgotten most of that "stuff!" :D

I do wear red clothing from time to time and that has never seemed to bother Oliver at all although I do wear a white "Ca Ca" cape nearly anytime my birds are on me. But those red nails, no way as far as Oliver was concerned. It's the only time in the three years I've had him that he seemed frightened of me. Come to think of it, he doesn't like it when I wear sunglasses either! Or a hat!

[Emery]

Wow, that's very interesting.

Amaretto doesn't seem to be affected by me wearing red, but when I first got him, I noticed his dislike in red (among other colours). He was very particular about what colours I was wearing. I found he really liked bright blues and green.

[mjm8321]

Red isn't an issue in our house, but certain patterns are. There was an incident with Ripley, our Senegal and one blue and white Hawaiian shirt. He hissed, growled and was unresponsive to commands. I told the hubby to go change to a plain shirt and when he returned around the corner, Ripley perked right up and said "Hi Baby!".
Last week, I made what I thought was a great purchase; $3 for a pair of flannel sleep pants. Problem is, they are plaid. Well, that's not a problem for me per-say, but the lovebirds absolutely freak out if I walk near them in these pants. So much for my bargain.

[Angelwing]

Just as Jenna has said, birds will not associate the colour red the same way as humans will. In fact, not all birds act similarily to red shades. I do have a lovie and one budgie who are fearful of both red and orange colours when first introduced to them. Although they will eat carrots and papaya now, once they've realised those colours aren't out to get them. But the rest of my flock show no signs of fear when shown a red or orange object. Every individual is different.

And I believe that goes for humans, as well. Sure, perhaps the study revealed that a certain percent of the population does not do quite as well on tests as they could have if they haven't seen the colour red right beforehand, but I think it's more likely that there are other reasons to factor in. I just find it hard to 'buy' studies such as these. But that's just me.