Studies conducted by Psychologists

Studies conducted by Psychologists

Excerpts from the studies:

Psychologists believe shopping could be a way for premenstrual women to deal with the negative emotions created by their hormonal changes.

Researchers have found women tend to dress to impress during their fertile days.

The researchers say that their study is clear evidence that the colour red makes men feel more amorous – even if this is only on a subconscious level.

“When men’s testosterone levels were high, they were more attracted to feminine women. When women’s testosterone levels were high, they were more attracted to masculine men.

“Since masculine men and feminine women are thought to produce the healthiest children and sex drive is higher when testosterone levels are also high, these findings suggest that men and women in hormonal states where their interest in sex is highest, show stronger attraction to high quality – or healthy – mates.”

Telling someone you fancy ‘I really like you’ could make him or her find you more attractive, research suggests.

Making eye contact and smiling have a similar effect, says Aberdeen University psychologist Dr Ben Jones.

The researchers wrote: “Mating effort is a finite resource that should be allocated judiciously, and preferences for direct gaze in opposite-sex faces would increase the likelihood of allocating mating effort to potential mates who are most likely to reciprocate.”

Dr Ben Jones, of the University of Aberdeen’s Face Research Lab, said: “Lots of previous studies have shown that people can judge a lot about a person from their face, including things like health and even some personality traits like introversion.

“But this really is the first study to show that people are also sensitive to subtle facial signals about the type of romantic relationships that others might enjoy.”

The paradigm has shifted. Dating is dated. Hooking up is here to stay.

According to her, the pros are that hooking up emphasizes group friendships over the one-pair model of dating, and, therefore, removes the negative stigma from those who can’t get a date. As she put it, “It used to be that if you couldn’t get a date, you were a loser.” Now, she said, you just hang out with your friends and hope that something happens.

Rom-coms have been blamed by relationship experts at Heriot Watt University for promoting unrealistic expectations when it comes to love.

Kimberly Johnson, who also worked on the study, said: “Films do capture the excitement of new relationships but they also wrongly suggest that trust and committed love exist from the moment people meet, whereas these are qualities that normally take years to develop.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7971578.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7693708.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/north_east/7616354.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7603530.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7082478.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/north_east/7336578.stm

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/13/opinion/13blow.html?em

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7784366.stm