为什么人类会挑中“红”玫瑰来代表爱情？人类对颜色的偏好究竟源于什么原因？下面这篇文章将给你一点启示。
Anyonewhoeverwonderedwhydyingvegetation—saylikeafreshly-clippedredrose—mayappealtoaladyfriend,mighttakesomecomfortinscience,whichonceagainoffersusarationalanswertooneoftheworld'sgreatirrationalities.
Beyondauniversalpreferenceinpeopleforblue,"thelonghistoryofcolorpreferencestudieshasbeendescribedas'bewildering,confusedandcontradictory',"writeneuroscientistsAnyaHurlbertandYazhuLingofEngland'sNewcastleUniversity,authorsofanewstudyinthejournalCurrentBiology."Thisfactisperhapssurprising,"theyadd,"giventheprevalenceandlongevityofthenotionthatlittlegirlsdifferfromboysinpreferringpink."
Buttheneuroscientistsbelievetheyhaveananswertothisscientificriddle,uncoveringadistaffpreferenceforred,hiddenatoptheuniversallikingforblue.
Intheirstudy,thepairquicklyflashedcolorcards,displayingnumerousvariationsinshade,hueandsaturation,at208volunteers,mostlyBritishersbutwithasubstantialnumberofHanChinese,whowererecentemigrantstotheUnitedKingdom.Testedinthreedifferentexperiments,theresearchersteasedoutasmallbutsignificantpreferenceforreddishhuesinthefemalevolunteers.
Puzzled,theauthorsrealizedthatmostofthedifferencebetweenmenandwomencameintheformofapreferenceforredversusgreeninthecolorcards,regardlessoftheothershadingssuchasthebluishonesthateveryoneliked.Whymightthisbe?
Evolutionmightofferananswer,theyreason.Humancolorperception,the"trichromacy"assessmentofthreeseparatecolortypes—red-green-blue—inourvisionisarelativelyrecentadditiontoourlineofmammals.
Inotherwords,womenmayactuallyhaveevolvedtopickupfeelingsandemotionsgivenawaybyblushesandotherphysicalsigns,whilemenwereoutlookingforamealsomewhere.
Addingweighttotheirargument,theyfoundwomenwhoscoredmostfeminineonapsychologicalsurvey,the"BemSexRoleinventory,"alsohadthebiggestpreferenceforreddishcolors."Myloveislikeared,redrose,"wrotetheScottishpoetRobertBurnsin1794,doubtlessmusingonjustthiskindofchemistry.
distaff:女性的总称
hue:色调
saturation:饱和度
trichromacy:能看到红绿蓝三种颜色的能力，能看到颜色的能力