Science Spot: Team color found to impact performance

There is an inherent unbalance when it comes to team color and competing. Whether it be in video games or sports, the color of a team can impact the chance for that team to win.

So, what color should you pick next time you participate in a team competition? Red.

IMAGE CREDIT: DeviantArt user TonyC445.
IMAGE CREDIT: DeviantArt user TonyC445.

When playing a team video game, there are typically two team colors: red or blue. In team video games, a player can usually expect that they are participating in the same trials and battles as their opposing player. These team games are built to be as balanced as possible, testing player skill, strategy and reflexes. However, being a part of the ‘red’ team produces significant advantages – to no fault of the game developer.

The journal of Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking published a study in 2008 where 1347 matches from Unreal Tournament 2004 were analyzed. All of the games were team death-match where the team with the most kills was the winner. On top of this, all of the players were evenly matched so the skill level of the players involved would have no impact on the results.

After three months, the study concluded that red teams consistently won 54 percent of the time.

However, these results are not restricted to video game play. Red has an evolutionary psychological impact that signals dominance.

As part of a 2007 study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, researchers had participants take a series of tests aimed at examining the relation between red and performance.

The results of the test gave clear evidence that exposure to red “impairs performance” and can trigger an “avoidance motivation,” similar to how a stop sign would make you react.

Red regularly sways behavior. It’s charged with social and cultural meanings, and is a powerful enhancer, sending signals that may not really reflect somethings true nature.

Because players on a ‘red team’ are psychologically prone to act more aggressive, it increases their win rate.

This “seeing red” effect isn’t won’t be the deciding factor in anything but a close competition, however. The 2004 study by Hill & Barton confirmed this.

When competitors were mismatched (such as a professional weightlifter competing against a middle school track student) the advantage by wearing a red uniform went away. Similarly, a professional gamer isn’t going to lose to a newbie simply because they were randomly assigned to the blue team.