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Original discussion thread: http://www.fastseduction.com/discussion/fs?action=9&boardid=2&read=101268&fid=8&FirstTopic=90&LastTopic=119
Every once in a while I'll come across something in my research that I think it worth mentioning here, particularly for the guys that like to analyze and figure out WHY things work instead of just accepting that they do (which is a good thing in my book).
A study was done some years back that had two conditions. In the first condition, participants were asked to walk across a high, narrow bridge. Participants in the second condition were asked to walk across a wide, low bridge.
In both conditions, an attractive member of the opposite sex would come up to the person mid-crossing, start up a conversation, and give the participant their phone number. Follow-up studies showed that the people on the "high bridge" condition were FAR more likely to call the person they met than people in the "low bridge" condition. Why?
Well, attraction is thought to be a two-factor emotion. As in, you must realize you are aroused, and then attribute it to someone else, in order to feel attraction for them. The high bridge produced anxious conditions for the participant--higher blood pressure, faster heart rate, nervousness, sweating, etc. Which happens to be the same biological response someone has when they're aroused.
The funny thing is, people are often really, really bad at attributing something to its true cause. The participants in the study interpreted the physiological response as attraction to the other person--and not to its true cause, anxiety due to being on a high and scary bridge.
So what are the implications here? It seems that the common logic of "do something exciting on a date" is deeper, and truer, than it seems at first. Of course you don't want to do something boring with a new person you're dating. But the scientific version of why it works out better is that if you're bungee jumping with your date, she'll get all flustered--and interpret it as attraction to you, the person she's with. NOT the fact that she's bungee jumping.
Oh, science. Once every ten volumes, you produce something of value. And that's why I love you.
A: Physiologically, almost everything. Which has some interesting applications.
