Study shows Horde have advantage for wearing red
by Natalie Mootz 
Jun 18th 2008 at 4:00PM
All the red tabards on the Horde side really annoy me. How come everyone picks a red tabard? Isn't it enough that the Horde flag is red? Can't we have as much variation in our color schemes as we do in our tusk/horn/pigtail configurations? Red is so 2007.Or maybe it's not. A study published in the Cyberpsychology & Behavior journal determined that teams who wore red while playing Unreal Tournament 2004 won 55% of the time over teams that wore blue. Another study from 2005 showed that wearing red gave an advantage to athletes in the 2004 Olympics, too. However, I'm not sure I buy the reasons given for this advantage, though. The neuroscientist who studied the Unreal Tournament matches thinks that because men turn red when they're angry this color acts as a psychological distractor. Sounds like some reaching, if you ask me.
Now, of course, in WoW we don't always wear the colors of our faction, but the predominance of red tabards on the Horde side and blue ones on the Alliance side may just put a Brutal Gladiator's Painsaw in the hands of those who claim the Horde has an advantage in the battlegrounds. But only if everyone wears red or blue. Hm. I wonder if I can change my guild's tabard color from green to red...
[Thanks, Avadann Kedeth.]
Filed under: Horde, Alliance, Analysis / Opinion, Guilds, News items, PvP, Battlegrounds
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
vlad Jun 18th 2008 4:10PM
hmm, cat talk used on a not cat picture? clever?
Alchemistmerlin Jun 18th 2008 4:11PM
I love seeing psychology applied poorly.
orlic Jun 18th 2008 4:12PM
if u ever played warhammer 40k
its becasue of the ORK pychic powers, they belive red things go faster, so due to thier powers (unknown by them) the red things do go faster
same as their weapons, that they use no gun powder, jsut shrapnel poured into barrels, yet they have muzzle flashes and fireing sound :D
god i loved orks :D
yet i rolled gnome.. hehe
Reddeth Jun 18th 2008 8:27PM
Oh man, you stole my thunder.
"Red wunz go fasta. Stands ta reazon, dunnit?"
Tim Hettler Jun 18th 2008 4:17PM
Correlation != Causation
Breck Jun 18th 2008 5:39PM
Thank you. Exactly what I was going to say.
Theadrick Jun 18th 2008 4:30PM
Slow news day?
Gimmlette Jun 18th 2008 4:30PM
Loved the photo selected. That's the icon I chose for my guild but I went with green because, at the time, there was only one other Alliance guild with a green tabard. Now, there are a bunch and I often have to stop for a second to make sure I'm not racing by a guildie.
I see more black background than blue background tabards. It would be interesting to know what the most selected color and icon are for each server. If you're trying to be unique with your tabard, it might be helpful to know that the lightning bolts and dark blue are the most predominant on your server.
phatphizzy Jun 18th 2008 4:39PM
Actually this can be very true. In soccer/football(depending where you're from) there have been studies on specific red color tones for the goalie shirt. These colors are supposed to be distractive against strikers from the other team. One example would be this years Champions League finale where Petr Cech wore such a shirt.
I believe such psychological effects are rooted in the receipients mind - for example special team soldiers specifically train to ignore such manipulations.
just my two cent
Leshrac Jun 18th 2008 4:38PM
This is typical Alliance, made up bullshit, now you want the color of their tabards nerfed? Are you fuggin kidding me? HOLY SHIIIITE! God damn Alliance whiners will find anything they can to complain about, frekking housewives.......
Procris Jun 18th 2008 5:58PM
I don't think hes being serious. A colour can't seriously give anyone an advantage. Horde are just better than Alliance in battlegrounds, its a fact. The again battlegrounds don't exactly have any class balance whatso ever. 4 druids on a single side in WSG and 0 on the other, the outcome is very likely going to go with whoever has the most druids. Heck if the majority of players on one side have better gear (say full S3 for example) and the other side has Blues and S1, its obvious the S3 gears will have an advantage.
These are just some examples of what can cause imbalance. Then of course theres good ol player skill and communication but thats another story and that can never be "fixed".
Angelus Jun 18th 2008 7:04PM
Wow, calm down you freaks. omg. making the horde look stupid, look at you. Thrall would be pissed.
First of all thats a 'she'. Second, she never states she is Alliance or Horde. But I'm assuming she is horde, she says 'we'. She says she is sick of all the red tabards. Who can blame her. You two may want to actually read before commenting.
In the end, it's all trumped by the fact that hostile enemies (Horde AND Alliance) have a big glowing RED banner over their friggin heads. It's a big red, huge, in-your-face, cant hide it for crap- RED banner with your long ass name on it and your long ass title.
Bynde Jun 18th 2008 4:38PM
"I can Haz Honor"?
I can haz a Taser for those who are perverting english with their teenage text messages?
Doffencrag Jun 18th 2008 4:56PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Can_Has_Cheezburger%3F
It has transcended "teenage text messages". It is pop culture.
Bynde Jun 19th 2008 10:38AM
You think Pop Culture isn't perverting english?
It's idiotic. I don't care, I'm just not going to allow myself to look like I am in Special Ed by writing things like "I can haz".
Put that on a cover letter of your resume and see how far that gets ya.
Elmo Jun 18th 2008 4:42PM
Orange > All :D:D:D
3-0
4-1
2-0 who's next?
dAnixx Jun 18th 2008 4:57PM
cya in the finals
green and red ftw ( thats Portugal u know? )
infection Jun 18th 2008 4:46PM
Actually it's because all the damn 9 year olds roll alliance.
Get the facts straight.
komamura Jun 18th 2008 4:46PM
Tell that to my AV battle group )=
Bynde Jun 18th 2008 4:49PM
Red is the color most advertisers use for their packaging. I believe green comes next.