I've always been curious about what makes people attracted to each other & in chapter 11 of our Lillenfield text sheds some light as to why. An example of this that I found interesting is the bridge experiment. A group of college students set out to determine what brings people together, they first placed an attractive female colleague on a safe sturdy bridge where she walked across and talk to guys who were crossing or standing on it. Then she went to another bridge where she did the exact same thing, walk and talk to men, except this time she was suspended really high up on a rope bridge, that swung around when you walked on it, in comparison to the first bridge it was relatively a dangerous situation.
The results from each experiment surprised me. On the sturdy bridge, where there seems to be no distractions, or no threat of danger, she only was able to get the attention of a few guys & a few numbers. However, on the rope bridge, she was not only able to get a lot of guys numbers, she also received more attention from the guys she was talking to. They student then concluded from the experiment that adrenalin, the sense of danger & uncertainty plays into the initial attraction of individuals.
This experiment makes me think retrospectively of the previous dates that I've been on. There wasn't one guy who took me out to do some thing slightly dangerous or exciting, I've just have had the opportunity to enjoy a dinner & movie. Had any of these guys that I went out with known that adrenalin, the sense of danger & uncertainty plays into the initial attraction of individuals. I think that the dates would have ended up being much more successful.
