In a separate set of experiments, we examined the effect of red
on physically enacted avoidance behavior (Elliot, Maier, Binser,
Friedman, & Pekrun, 2007). In a first experiment, participants
were shown red or green on the cover of an analogies test that
they would (ostensibly) take in an adjacent lab. Participants
shown red, relative to those shown green, knocked fewer times on
the door of the adjacent lab as they anticipated taking the test. In
a second experiment, participants were shown red, green, or gray
on the cover of an IQ test that they would (ostensibly) take. A
sensor was placed on participants to assess their body movement
upon presentation of the test cover. Participants shown red
moved their bodies away from the test cover to a greater degree
than did those shown green or gray; those shown green or gray did
not differ (see Fig. 3). Debriefing indicated that the effect of red
in these experiments occurred without participants’ awareness