Words About Things

A recent study by the University of Valencia has discovered that men experience stress when meeting a beautiful women, particularly one who is ‘out of their league’. An encounter with an attractive woman can raise a mans Cortisol levels (cortisol is commonly referred to as a stress hormone). High Cortisol levels can increase the negative effects of medical conditions such as heart disease and diabetes although it can also have a positive effect in small doses.

The researchers asked 84 (presumably straight) male students to solve a Sudoku puzzle in a room with two strangers, a man and an attractive woman. They monitored the student’s stress levels which did not alter when the woman left the room. When the man departed leaving the students on their own with the woman their stress levels rose.

The researchers came to the conclusion that the possibility of courtship had the male participants hot under the collar:

“In this study we considered that for most men the presence of an attractive woman may induce the perception that there is an opportunity for courtship. While some men might avoid attractive women since they think they are ‘out of their league’, the majority would respond with apprehension and a concurrent hormonal response. This study showed that male cortisol levels increased after exposure to a five-minute short social contact with a young, attractive woman.”

It would be interesting to see if the level of stress hormones released was effected by other variables. Would men who were happily married for instance, be less likely to feel stressed due to the reduced chance of courtship? Would what the woman was wearing effect stress levels, for instance what effect would sexy lingerie have? Would the presence of the male volunteer’s girlfriend make the situation more or less stressful?

Beautiful women: Bad for your health?

A lot of time and effort is spent trying to work out how and why we buy in order to get us to part with as much money as possible. They layout in your local supermarket is clearly not haphazard and it’s no coincidence that the sweets and magazines are next to the till. Our decision making patterns are observed and tested so that we can be convinced not only to spend but to spend more often. Ideally (for those doing the selling) we will leave thinking that we have found a great deal or got more than our moneys worth but this isn’t necessarily the case.

We all know that something at eye level is more likely to sell than something that needs to be sought out. We also know that something priced at 99p is supposedly more likely to sell than something for £1. there are however some tricks of the trade which you may not know about:

• The second cheapest wine on the menu is often the bottle with the highest profit margin. This is because most of us want a bargain but don’t want to look cheap so we go for the second cheapest option. For similar reasons the cheapest wine on the menu probably tastes disgusting, what were you expecting cheapskate?

• By adding an extra expensive option to the menu restaurateurs are able to make a high priced option seem cheaper by comparison.

• If items are bundled together (for example a set meal) we find it difficult to work out if we are paying a fair price particularly if the items are not available separately.

• Different size portions are often sold for different prices. This means that those who are hungry will pay more and those who are trying to save money will get a smaller than normal portion. Whilst the customer feels like they are getting more of a choice they still aren’t getting more than their moneys worth.

• Coffee chains like Starbucks sell their drink in confusing sizes like Tall, Grande and Venti but never ‘small’. By taking away the relation between the names and their sizes they are aiming to make us feel like we aren’t getting a small portion or being greedy by having a ‘large’.

• The upper right corner of the menu is apparently where we all look first (eye tracking studies have proven this) so items placed here are given a lot of thought. Often an expensive and fancy option will be placed here, this makes everything else look cheaper and makes sure that this item is not missed.