Language Lab, Science Faculty, University of Nice - Sophia Antipolis

The Advantage of Wearing Red

The following article describes a recent study about the effect of the color red on the outcome of sporting events. Read the text and answer the questions below.

When opponents in a game are equally matched, the team wearing red is more likely to win, according to a new study. British scientists Russell Hill and Robert Barton of the University of Durham reached that conclusion by studying the outcomes of one-on-one boxing, tae kwon do, and wrestling matches at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

 

In each event, the competitors had been randomly assigned red or blue outfits by Olympics staff. When one competitor won by a large margin, presumably because he was far superior to his opponent, the color of his clothing did not affect the result. "But when the match was very close,” Barton said, “wearing red was consistently associated with a higher probability of winning."

 

Hill and Barton found similar results in a review of the colors worn at the Euro 2004 international football tournament. Their report will be published in tomorrow's issue of the journal Nature.

 

Hill and Barton got the idea for their study from learning about other animals, where red is often a sign for male dominance and high testosterone levels. Joanna Setchell, a primate researcher at the University of Cambridge, has shown that red coloration of the face and body gives male monkeys an advantage when it comes to mating. Another study by other scientists has shown that when red plastic rings are experimentally placed on the legs of male birds, the birds become more dominant. 

 

Hill and Barton speculated that there might be a similar effect in humans, and if there is, that it could be apparent in sporting contests.

 

 

1. Which of the following statements is most likely to be true about a match that was won by a score of 20-5??
The team scoring 20 points probably wore red.
The team scoring 20 points probably wore a color other than red.
The team scoring 20 points was just as likely to wear red as another color. color.
Neither of the teams wore red.

 

2.Which of the following statements is most likely to be true about a match that was won by a score of 20-19?
The team scoring 20 points probably wore red.
The team scoring 20 points probably wore a color other than red.
The team scoring 20 points was just as likely to wear red as another color.
Neither of the teams wore red.

 

3. How do athletes decide whether they will wear red or another color when competing in the Olympics?
Athletes can wear any color they want to in the Olympics.
The team with the highest number of previous wins always wears red.
The team with the lowest number of previous wins always wears red.
Actually, the athletes don’t decide which color they will be wearing.

 

4. How did Barton and Hill know that their conclusions about the effect of red on the outcome of sporting events weren’t specific to the Olympics?
Because the Olympics are only held every 4 years.
Because the effect is also seen in European football matches.
Because it was true for boxing, tae kwon do, and wresting matches.
They don’t know that, only future research can resolve this issue.

 

 

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