Women's red clothing can increase mate-guarding from their male partner

Abstract

Mate guarding is a common strategy that functions to prevent individuals from engaging in extra-pair copulations. For women, wearing red clothing can be perceived by men as a signal of sexual receptivity. Thus, men may guard their mate more strongly when she is wearing red, relative to other colors. We tested this hypothesis by examining the intensity of anticipated mate-guarding behaviors in conditions where women were imagined (by their partner and themselves) to wear red or black clothing in a repeated-measures design. Results showed stronger anticipated mate-guarding behaviors from men when they imagined their partner in red, relative to black. Women were unable to predict the intensity of mate-guarding from their partner with respect to color condition. Partner satisfaction did not moderate these findings in either sex.