With 60 days to go until the start of the Olympics and the torch making its continuing journey, I continue to be intrigued by the varying reactions to Stella McCartney’s design for Team GB’s outfits. Whilst many praised the design, some criticised the restrained use of red and the dominance of blue. It wasn’t just the arguments about the injuring of England's nationalistic pride, but the idea that competitors wearing red may have an advantage.
The effect of colour has long been of interest to psychologists, and the findings from research are keenly watched by the likes of advertisers, sports men and women and restaurateurs. If certain colours make us eat more or less, buy more, feel more relaxed, run faster etc, then there is clearly a massive impetus to research the area vigorously.
Previous articles within the national press have focussed on comments from Prof Barton, who argued that McCartney’s designs had “not taken into account the possible effects that colour might have on performance”. I haven’t found any response from Stella herself on this particular point, but she says she has tried to reinterpret the flag and give it a contemporary twist and has focussed on the functionality of the design and fabric. Barton’s initial research in 2005 looking at combat sports, suggested that wearing red “consistently increased athlete’s probability of winning”. It was argued that competitors can be disadvantaged by judges who scored teams wearing red more highly. They can be further disadvantaged by opponents who wear red, as they will feel intimidated at the outset of the competition. This effect was later applied to other sports as well.
Even if these advantages are really small, it can still be significant in sports where the difference between medals or getting a medal at all, can depend on millimetres or thousandths of a second. I read that Tiger Woods always wore red on the last day of tournament!
The idea that there is a red advantage could also be misleading of course. Research linking sporting success and red shirts in the Spanish Football League, showed no differences once the effects of the manager and the team’s resources had been taken into consideration. Red is also linked to danger and error – I can remember vividly dreading those comments written in red ink across my schoolwork! I made sure that when I was teaching I never used a red pen to mark student’s work. There are cultural differences too, such as in China where red is linked to luck and prosperity.
So in conclusion, the jury remains out on the impact of wearing different colours. When watching the Olympics this summer, it will be interesting to see if those wearing red, or our athletes with more red on their outfits, win more medals!
