Jezebel
As it turns out, all those babes in bikinis you see at auto shows actually have a scientific purpose for being there! Science Daily reports that Stanford researchers exposed (heh) heterosexual men to erotic photos and found that immediately afterward, the men were consistently more likely to take bigger financial risks than they would otherwise. (As reported earlier this year, women are inspired to spend after smelling food.)
The interesting part is that since the scientists were using gambling in their study, erotic photos (which have nothing to do with gambling) are considered "irrelevant stimuli." Brian Knutson, assistant professor of psychology and lead author of the Stanford study, explains, "If you go to the casinos, people are wearing skimpy costumes, they're giving you free alcohol, there are bells and lights and things like that, which don't necessarily seem related to the odds of the gambling. But these are cues that might activate brain regions that encourage risk-taking and therefore get people to gamble more." So let's get this straight: Men subconsciously crave half-nekkid women, and women subconsciously crave brownies?
Irrelevant Image Of Attractive Woman Can Make A Man More Willing To Take Big Financial Risks [Science Daily]
Earlier: Delicious Scents Make You Drop Cash
Comments
That girl needs to do some Miss America glue magic and get that swimsuit out of her butt crack before I'd gamble on her.
I think men subconsciously crave nekkid women but will accept half-nekkid.
I am such a stereotypical chick. Cupcakes get me so much more excited than bimbos in bikinis.
"So let's get this straight: Men subconsciously crave half-nekkid women, and women subconsciously crave brownies? "
Sounds about right.
@tetragami: Based on the males I know, there's nothing subconscious about it ;)
All I can think of is the episode of Arrested Development when Gob is forced to buy a boat because of the "Business Model".
Homer to model: Do you come with the car?
Model: Oh, you! :giggle:
Random man to model: Do you come with the car?
Model: Oh, you! :giggle:
I don't believe the image of the bikini women is all that irrelevant. Men often buy expensive cars/homes/gold chains as a way of conveying their financial hotness to women.
Also, after viewing semi-naked women, men are more likely to take other risks too, including physical ones.
@tetragami: I dunno: if they were already fully naked, there'd be less reason to take risks in the effort to accomplish anything.
This is non-news to us poor men, who are constantly being manipulated, oppressed, and exploited via the strategic deployment of, you know, stuff like really pretty waitresses we can't resist over-tipping. It's an American tragedy. (Do I need to add any other over-the-top lines here to be absolutely clear that I'm half-kidding?)
I knew I bought that skimpy stewardess dress from Vicky's for a reason
I don't subconsciously crave brownies. I'm currently fully conscious of my brownie craving, and desperately trying to figure out how to get my hands on one.
I'm getting so annoyed by all the inane studies coming out lately. Every study produced that "proves" something completely obvious (women more likely to date less attractive men than vice versa...duh.) is being funded with a lot of money. Did you ever think when you read these things - they got a GD grant to study this crapola. They aren't even addressing any important sociological issues, they seem to all be trying to prove that single women over 30 are going to die alone or some variation of that. Seriously, who is funding this shit? How about *studying* cancer instead ye fecktards?
I think it evens out because I am much LESS likely to spend money if there are naked or half-naked chicks around. I'm sure the casinos and car dealerships are really missing the $14 in my wallet. Hahaha!
What's this about a subconscious? I'll have you know, not all of us have one of those, sub-consciouseses.
@PinkSoxHat: I want brownies even though I am currently eating a thin mint!
But I want brownies even when I'm eating brownies.
wish i made my boy financially irresponsible. clearly i am not a "hot chick".
So, the gist of this story is that men like hot chicks. And will make an ass of themselves in order to get one. Where do I sign up for a grant for one of these studies? I'd like to research if men like blow jobs.
@briardahl: Damn those hot waitresses! Foiled again! I'd've conquered the world by now if I didn't tip so much!
@KW03: Oh man, you SO do not want economists working on how to cure cancer
@briardahl: Only half kidding? Brother, you better top up that kidding or get ready for a lashing.
no I just don't want these people getting funded to study b/s at the expense of something actually important.
@briardahl: Best post-5 p.m. EDT comment of the day!
I like economic studies. They serve a purpose and I find them fascinating.
I am a very big dork.
Shit, George Elliot (AKA Marian Evans) could have told you this like 150 years ago. See Middlemarch, Lydgate's financial downfall after marrying Rosamond.
That said, I am MUCH more interested in brownies than the mutton-dressed-like-lamb at the casinos.
@KW03: Well, that money wouldn't have gone to cancer research. And this study could be considered important by a number of people and organizations.
What's the big deal with Porsches? It's just another machine that take you from Point A to Point B...(sees girlie bum)...I'll take two.
@cardboardbelt: Ha: the half I'm kidding about is the half where it's some grand tragedy. The half I'm not kidding about is the half where guys do dumb things in an effort to look good in front of attractive women, even attractive women who are doing jobs and will never see them again. I think there was a headline in The Onion at some point, along the lines of "Waitress Too Pretty To Order Nachos" -- there is a lame and accurate psychology behind that.
NO WAI!!!!1
That girl in the picture makes me want brownies.
@JessicaLovejoy: Wonderful reference
Excuse me, but I prefer to have a half nekkin man feeding me that brownie.
Or ok, the whole pan of brownies.
Now I finally can grasp the concept of the topless bar! Thanks, Stanford!
I am amazed at how little men know about women. They spend years 12-28 working on their pick-up lines, and can't bake box brownies to save their lives. I generalize, but... you put some oil and some water in a bowl and stir it with a spoon! A SPOON! You can make a little pan out of tin foil!
Hubs baked me an apple pie after dating me for six weeks, and I cried and danced around and took photos of the pie, but what I was thinking was, 'If he's not a psycho, I am so marrying him."
@KW03: Well the way studies are spun makes them seem silly. They used sexual stimulus because, for the ppl selected- male, hetero-undergrads, it would be a positive stimulus.
What can be said is that, as long as they have to make a decision quickly, activating the nucleus accumbens before making the decision could make you take a higher-risk choice.
The nucleus accumbens is involved with processes like laughter, fear, pleasure, and addiction so the results are not necessarily surprising. Still, stuff like this needs to be done to characterize brain function.
@noseriously: That must have been so awesome =D
Omg why did you even say the word brownies? Now I want one!
Hey, this is terrific. Now I can blame my moments of financial irresponsibility on my wife's hotness. Thanks, science!
@Brigit: Forget characterizing brain function, let's sell people stuff! Obvious as it is, I remain creeped out by how one of the fastest applications of brain research is always marketing.
@noseriously: A SPOON!
Because it'll hurt more?
@Brigit: ok, if you say so. But it just seems like I'm seeing a lot more of these 'human interest' type studies with obvious conclusions lately, and it's gettin' on m' nerves!
Well, I don't know about other women, but I personally have an erotic response to food, so it's pretty much the same thing.
Now see I deliberatly wore a skimpy bikini and vey high stilettos too when we went car shopping. When I saw the car I wanted, I simply rolled around on the hood, made ummmp, ohhh, uuuugh, aaaahhhhhhh noises while caressing my breasts and sometimes squeezing my inner thigh and looking deeply into his eyes. I was then given a warm brownies and drove my new car home.
@linkura: Not even as a joke should you ever post a comment like that again. Seriously...it makes some of us very twitchy.
@KW03: Please to go and pick up a medical journal. I know plenty of people in the medical field or in biochemistry or neurology (I told y'all I was a dork) who are working hard to cure cancer or develop treatments for it or figure out how to prevent Alzheimers (Omega-3s, y'all!). These studies get BIG dollars, but they don't get a lot of attention because (a) they're not that sexy and (b) they're fairly incremental discoveries. I mean, no one's going to "cure" cancer with a magic pill, but treatment options, screening techniques and prevention methods are developing daily.
@briardahl: I love it. But marketing metrics occupy a lot of my pre-bedtime thinking.
I will give you $20 for a cupcake right now.
@sequined: I have everything I need to make cupcakes... except milk :(
recipes anyone?
Would someone please move her elsewhere before she can put more fingerprints on the paint job?
It's really not that complicated: deep down inside, despite what they've been told, men really do believe the pice of ass comes with the car. Really.
Wasn't it Chris Rock that said if you could get laid in a card board box every man in this country would be homeless?
I will have you know, there is nothing subconscious about my craving of brownies. I'm fully aware of it, all the time.
So is it the testosterone? This study is kinda half-assed. Follow thru, plz.
iäm going to have to go with "duh" as my reaction to this.
*i'm