MEN who wear red clothes send out a signal that they are angry and aggressive, in much the same way as if their face had reddened, according to Durham University researchers.

When 50 male and 50 female volunteers were shown images of men in different coloured T-shirts, they rated those wearing red as more aggressive and angry than those in blue or grey.

However, while the male volunteers also tended to consider men wearing red as ‘dominant’, the female volunteers did not.

The results of the research may have parallels in nature and could provide insights into whether it is advisable to wear red in certain social situations, said Rob Barton, Professor in evolutionary anthropology at Durham University, who led the study.

Red often signals aggression in animals - and the tendency for men to turn red-faced when they are angry is believed to be inherited from our ancient ancestors as a warning sign. In some animal species, red may be displayed by competing males trying to dominate each other to win the right to mate with females, he said.

PhD student Diana Wiedemann, who conducted the experiments, said: “We know that the colour red has an effect on the human brain. This is embedded in our culture, for example the idea of wearing a red tie – known as a ‘power tie’ - for business, or issuing a red alert.

“The implications of our research are that people may wish to think carefully about wearing red in social situations and perhaps important meetings, such as job interviews.”

To carry out the research, images of men were digitally manipulated, so they appeared to wear a variety of differently coloured t-shirts. These were shown to the volunteers, who rated them on a scale of one to seven for both aggression and dominance.