Laws of Attraction

Young heterosexual male volunteers took brain function tests after conversations with beautiful women. Results showed that after even a few minutes spent chatting with attractive women, the men's ability to process streams of letters slowed and was less accurate.  When the tests were administered again, after the men conversed with women they didn't find attractive, the scores improved.

Women, on the other hand, are not affected by conversations with attractive men. Women's scores stayed about the same whether conversing with man or woman, attractive or not. The researchers conclude that men are programmed to think about ways to pass on their genes. While men are reproductively focused, women are looking for things not easily seen in a first meeting: indications of wealth, youth and kindness.

The researchers stated in a report on their findings: '... men's cognitive functioning may temporarily decline after an interaction with an attractive woman.' Suppose you're not a woman whose looks turn men's minds to mush with a single smile, yet you want to increase your power. The simple answer is to wear red.

A study at the University of Rochester confirmed red as the color of love. Men shown photos of the same women found her more attractive in a red frame than blue, gray or green. If the researchers used a computer to change a woman's shirt from blue to red, men found the same woman in the same photo more attractive in the red shirt.

While the preference for red may come from society's association of red and love for generations, it's more likely a biological response. Scientists have shown that male higher primates are more attracted to females of their species when they display red.

Women, again on the other hand, were not affected by color in determining attractiveness. Gay and color blind men were not included in the study.

When male college students say they'll spend more of the $100 researchers gave them on a date with a woman in red than in another color, they're probably responding at a base biological level. Work with that information and pull out your best red dress when the stakes are really high.