In the early 70s (probably bored by the first oil price crisis)<\/strong> psychologists Donald Dutton and Arthur Aron conducted a series of experiments<\/a>. First, they sent a group of men down a rickety, wobbly bridge across a scary river. On the bridge, a woman asked them to complete a projective test that involves making up narratives about ambiguous pictures. A similar group of men was sent across a safe and sturdy bridge across a small creek and presented with the same test.<\/p>\n Guess what. The men who experienced the scary bridge produced narratives that were much richer in sexual content than the men on the safe bridge<\/strong>. Also, they called the female researcher back much more often<\/strong> (9 out of 18 vs. 2 out of 16 men). The results were corroborated in a laboratory setting with scary shocks, where the men anticipating shocks produced more sexual narratives and reported being more attracted to a female also present.<\/p>\n Hm. It looks like our hearts and minds are not very good at distinguishing where flutters and butterflies come from. Scary can mean hot.<\/strong> The nearest potential partner becomes more attractive. Feelings get a boo \u2013 st.<\/strong><\/p>\n What can we do with this? Well, as wobbly bridges are rare these days, I would advocate you ride a roller coaster with your love at least once a month. And take advantage of the current season: check out the neighborhood\u2019s scariest displays. No dodging the haunted houses\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the early 70s (probably bored by the first oil price crisis) psychologists Donald Dutton and Arthur Aron conducted a series of experiments. First, they sent a group of men down a rickety, wobbly bridge across a scary river. On … Continue reading