Checking out the Babe Thread just before studying = bad idea

[Narz]

I could have predicted these findings.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25197962/

Science proves that bikinis turn men into boobs

Sexy images rob male brain of ability to make wise decisions


A glimpse of a sexy bod in a bikini overwhelms the male brain, rendering him less than savvy when making decisions.

You may have known this all along, but now it has been demonstrated scientifically: bikinis make men stupid.

This month’s issue of the Journal of Consumer Research features a paper titled “Bikinis Instigate Generalized Impatience in Intertemporal Choice,” which is a neuroeconomist’s (definition in a moment) way of saying that men don’t make good decisions while checking out pretty girls in bikinis.

Hence automakers’ penchant for placing leggy models in front of absurdly priced cars at auto shows, and the casting of three scantily clad women on that “Republica Deportiva” show on Univision which I find myself watching though I don’t care whether Chivas defeated Rayados del Monterey.

Virgil wrote of the phenomenon 2,000 years ago when he created the epic poem “The Aeneid.” When Venus convinces Vulcan to make some special armor, she

…threw her snow-white arms around him
As he held back, caressing him here and there,
And suddenly he caught fire — the same old story,
The flame he knew by heart went running through him,
Melting him to the marrow of his bones…
She knew her beauty’s power.

But though we might recognize this intuitively, there is some very important insight about sex and relationships, not to mention economics, to be gained from this latest research.

In the “bikini” experiments, Belgian researchers conducted a series of tests on 358 young men. In one test, the men looked at images of women in bikinis or lingerie and at images of landscapes. In another, some men were given T-shirts to handle and assess while others were given bras. Another batch of men was assigned to watch a commercial featuring men running over landscapes while other guys watched a video of “hundreds of young women, dressed in bikinis running across hills, fields and beaches.” (No word on whether they used “Baywatch” slo-mo).

In each test, the researchers offered the men the choice between being paid 15 euros immediately or bargaining for a larger sum that they'd be willing to wait a week or a month for. In all the tests, the men exposed to the sexy imagery or bras cited delayed reward amounts that were lower than the amounts cited by the men who saw sex-neutral imagery. For example, while a man who looked at landscapes might have demanded an extra payment of 10 euros a month later (totaling 25), the bikini-gazer might have been willing to settle for five extra (totaling 20). The sexy imagery did not work on all men all the time, but, as a group, men with sex on their brains settled for a less lucrative bargain, suggesting they were more impulsive and valued immediate gratification more than the controls.

“I observed in my studies that men are more likely to pick a smaller immediate reward over a larger later reward,” Bram van den Bergh, the study’s lead author, tells me. “Hence I do think that men might spend money on something they might otherwise not purchase. Men would become more impulsive in any domain after exposure to sexual cues.”

Sexy ‘tunnel vision’
This jibes with the findings of a 2006 paper, “Heat of the Moment: The Effect of Sexual Arousal on Sexual Decision Making.” George Loewenstein of Carnegie Mellon University and Dan Ariely of MIT, found that sexually aroused men would do all sorts of things they might not otherwise do.

To study this effect, they asked men to masturbate while answering a series of questions on a computer. (They helpfully created a system that could be operated with one hand.) For example, 42 percent of non-aroused men thought women’s shoes were erotic. But 65 percent of aroused men thought so. Nineteen percent of non-aroused men said they would agree to sex in a threesome with another man and a woman, while 34 percent of aroused men said so. Less than half, 46 percent, of non-aroused men said they would encourage a date to drink to increase the chance she would have sex with them, but 63 percent of aroused men said so.

Loewenstein, one of the founders of the field of neuroeconomics, which links the workings of our brains to economic and other human interactions, sometimes using machines like functional magnetic resonance imaging to literally watch brain regions light up, says that sex and other strong drives “produce a kind of tunnel vision.”

“Drives are designed to motivate you to focus on specific goals; they have evolved for that purpose, to focus on the goal to the exclusion of other goals or considerations,” he says.

So a man who is aroused literally narrows his view of the world. When we’re thinking about sex, pretty much all we can think about is sex. So a man might do things he would not otherwise do (spending an hour surfing a Jennifer Love Hewitt fan site), or may behave in a seemingly irresponsible manner (skipping the condom).

In fact, studies have shown that sexy ads don’t really make men remember the product. We’re so lasered in on the sexy stuff, we don’t care what brand of beer it is, or how long it takes the car to go from zero to 60.

What about a Beckham effect?
None of this excuses bad boy behavior, but it may help women understand why even a choir boy is tough to dissuade once he’s built up a head of steam.

Whether or not women are as blinded by sex as men remains an open question. Would a picture of David Beckham in briefs influence a woman to pass up a bigger payout? Maybe, but the studies on sexual arousal and decision-making have mostly been done on men, so the verdict is out.

In general, though, all our brains, Loewenstein believes, can be thought of as being of “two minds,” there is the “affective system,” (“Dude! Who cares what it costs! She’s hot!”) which answers to our basic drives, and the deliberative system (“That’s your IRA contribution!”). To think of this another way, picture an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. Even in the heat of the moment, there is still that little voice that says "You know you are making a mistake" — the trouble is it gets drowned out by the volume of the affective system.

We are constantly negotiating between these two systems, which is why economists are so interested; it’s how we make purchasing decisions. It may also explain the morning-after walk of shame, the overcharged credit card — and “don’t worry, I’ll pull out in time.”

So bikinis ring our affective bells and those things make a lot of noise. Just remember this when you go to the beach, or the pool, or the lake this summer. She may look amazing in that tiny bikini, but try to listen to that little voice that’s whispering “SPF 30,” no matter how uncool you’ll look slathering it on.

You’ve been warned.

[scy12]

I have looked at that bikini and so i can not offer an answer to this thread. All i can think is SEX , BIKINIS , NOW !!

Considering the advertisement displayed continuously in this site it is no wonder why we keep entering it.

[Perfection]

What sort of delay with any was given between the presentation of the sexy imagery and the testing?

[warpus]

Sexy images rob male brain of ability to make wise decisions

In other news, water is wet.

[GoodGame]

Originally Posted by Perfection

What sort of delay with any was given between the presentation of the sexy imagery and the testing?

Not enough time for the blood to return to their heads.

[TheBladeRoden]

Originally Posted by Narz

To study this effect, they asked men to masturbate while answering a series of questions on a computer.

I'd hate to be anybody but the first guy to test on that computer

[Narz]

Originally Posted by TheBladeRoden

I'd hate to be anybody but the first guy to test on that computer

xcl

[Brighteye]

I never understood this idea that magazines and computers become filthy. It's really very easy to see a magazine without holding it at crotch level.

[JerichoHill]

Originally Posted by TheBladeRoden

I'd hate to be anybody but the first guy to test on that computer

ROFL WAFFLE!

[Perfection]

Originally Posted by Brighteye

I never understood this idea that magazines and computers become filthy. It's really very easy to see a magazine without holding it at crotch level.

Sometimes you lose control.

[warpus]

Originally Posted by Brighteye

I never understood this idea that magazines and computers become filthy. It's really very easy to see a magazine without holding it at crotch level.

I usually have to clean up the walls and ceiling after a "session".

Maybe you're just not trying hard enough.

[El Koeno]

Originally Posted by warpus

I usually have to clean up the walls and ceiling after a "session".

Maybe you're just not trying hard enough.

Waaaaay too much information there...

[Narz]

Originally Posted by warpus

I usually have to clean up the walls and ceiling after a "session".

Ah, to be young again. I remember those days.

[mdwh]

Maybe I'm misreading, but the quoted reports do not say anything about wisdom or intelligence if you ask me:

In each test, the researchers offered the men the choice between being paid 15 euros immediately or bargaining for a larger sum that they'd be willing to wait a week or a month for. In all the tests, the men exposed to the sexy imagery or bras cited delayed reward amounts that were lower than the amounts cited by the men who saw sex-neutral imagery. For example, while a man who looked at landscapes might have demanded an extra payment of 10 euros a month later (totaling 25), the bikini-gazer might have been willing to settle for five extra (totaling 20). The sexy imagery did not work on all men all the time, but, as a group, men with sex on their brains settled for a less lucrative bargain, suggesting they were more impulsive and valued immediate gratification more than the controls.

I fail to see how asking *less* implies being more impulsive and demanding gratification. And whilst you could argue it harms their bargaining skills, an equally valid interpretation is that it makes them more content, and they are less concerned with material things like money.

Normally it's considered a good thing if people are less concerned about money, and view it as selfish if people try to grab more out of someone. It certainly has nothing to do with being wise (except in the narrow field where you are concerned with being a money-grabbing businessman).

To study this effect, they asked men to masturbate while answering a series of questions on a computer. (They helpfully created a system that could be operated with one hand.) For example, 42 percent of non-aroused men thought women’s shoes were erotic. But 65 percent of aroused men thought so. Nineteen percent of non-aroused men said they would agree to sex in a threesome with another man and a woman, while 34 percent of aroused men said so. Less than half, 46 percent, of non-aroused men said they would encourage a date to drink to increase the chance she would have sex with them, but 63 percent of aroused men said so.

Now this is just getting silly. Aroused men are more likely to find things sexy and want to do sexual things? Thank you captain obvious!

Whilst technically this supports the argument that sexually aroused men would do things they might not otherwise do, it is only in the narrow, relevant bleeding obvious sense, and does not support the "all sorts of things" claim. It's like doing a study to show that hungry people are more likely to want to eat a tasty pie, and then claim that being hungry makes you do all sorts of things you normally wouldn't!

"When we’re thinking about sex, pretty much all we can think about is sex." - Well no, the study supports that when we're thinking about sex, we think about sex more than other things. Which again is a statement of the bleeding obvious. I think it's obvious that if you're aroused, your mind is going to be on sexual things, and if your mind is focused on one thing, it's hard to think of other things too. There's nothing special or surprising here - but that doesn't imply wisdom drops, or that we'd do "all sorts of things" we normally wouldn't.

Whether or not women are as blinded by sex as men remains an open question.

Indeed, it would be far more interesting to know if there is a difference (and testing bi/gay people with same sex attractions would be interesting too), but it seems they are more concerned with perpetuating sterotypes about men and sex.

[Brighteye]

Originally Posted by warpus

I usually have to clean up the walls and ceiling after a "session".

Maybe you're just not trying hard enough.

I was thinking of aim, not distance. Try a little subtlety. If you get it in her eye it doesn't matter how powerful it was.

[Narz]

Interesting thoughts mdwh. But I'd say that anything (whether it be pie or . .. .. .. .. .) that makes you crave it at the expense of all else (in that moment) is something you want to make sure you develop some discipline in regards to. Lest you get unhealthy or STD-riddin'.

I'd say the ability to plan long term & not be caught up by immediate gratification type urges is one of the definitions of wisdom.

[raketooy]

I should change my avatar in PokerStars to a woman in bikini.

[Perfection]

Well it seems to me that this might be destraction at work, I mean I'd probably be making the same mistake if I smelled sweet delicious hotdogs, or some other pleasurable stimulus.

[caketastydelish]

Originally Posted by raketooy

I should change my avatar in PokerStars to a woman in bikini.

Win. 10chars

[Lord Olleus]

Or even better, play late at night on a friday when the others are drunk.