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Ladies: Want to look more attractive? Do THIS...

University of Rochester researchers discovered that women who wear red may be more attractive to men.

The study featured various experiments in which groups of about 30 male undergrads looked at black-and-white headshots of a young woman standing against either a white, green, red, gray, or blue background.

Results indicated that the men perceived women standing in front of a red backdrop as more attractive and more sexually attractive, and were more likely to want to date them.

Moreover, when men were asked to point out what factored into their attractiveness rating, few mentioned the background color, suggesting that the preference for red is subconscious.

Red is also a color we not only associate with boldness, energy, and sexiness (think lipstick), but love: Think about how often you see red roses and red boxes of chocolates on Valentine's Day. I've also heard that those driving red cars generally get more speeding tickets.

There you have it, ladies. If you want to woo a good-looking man, you might up your chances by wearing your red dresses, blouses, skirts, or high heels more frequently.

Studies have shown that these other factors also make people (men and women alike) look more attractive:

  • Being funny
  • Surrounding oneself with friends
  • Being deeper (and less "chit-chatty")
  • Being a leader
  • Smiling more
  • Owning a dog
  • Being nice
  • Living in a high-status place
  • Playing good music
  • Dating someone pleasant
  • Cultivating mindfulness
  • Playing extreme/adventurous sports
Realistically, not everyone can do or be all of these things. As hard as people can try to be funny, not everyone has a sense of humor. Some of us -- probably the more introverted among us -- don't have a wide circle of friends and prefer it that way. In addition, some people rather be followers than leaders, prefer books to sports or music, and are partial to cats. What's more, not everyone has the means to live in a high-status apartment.

While I would encourage people to try doing some of these things (e.g. smiling and being nice), it's important to remain true to yourself. You should never feel you have to drastically change your personality to attract the opposite sex. At the end of the day, the right person for you will appreciate you for all your good and bad qualities.

Would you wear red -- or do anything else on the list above -- to look more attractive?

For more insightful posts, please click here: How to Understand People

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