Falling in love has always been something of a leap of faith – but maybe more so than anyone realised.
New research shows people caught up in a new romance are more likely to indulge in risk-taking behaviour – such as bungee jumping.
They’re also more inclined to commit immoral or fraudulent acts, including bribing strangers for financial gain.
The findings, from a series of studies in China, demonstrate how being in love can detract from our powers of self-control and increase our appetite for danger.
Researchers from Sichuan International Studies University in Chongqing, China, tested how being exposed to images of love and romance affected volunteers’ judgement.
In one experiment, they recruited 150 men and women who were told they were there to assess the quality of new TV advertisements.
Half were exposed to ads packed with romantic imagery – such as a woman being kissed on the shoulder by a man, a dozen red roses lying on the floor and a Valentine’s Day heart-shaped pink cake on a table.
The rest watched ads for mobile phones and video games that featured no romantic shots.
The findings, from a series of studies in China , demonstrate how being in love can detract from our powers of self-control and increase our appetite for danger. Pictured: File image
New research shows people caught up in a new romance are more likely to indulge in risk-taking behaviour – such as bungee jumping. Pictured: File image
As a reward for taking part, participants were then offered free tickets to either visit a new gardening exhibition – or do a bungee jump where they would ‘leap head-first from a great height with a thick rubber cord attached to their feet’.
The results, in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, revealed 53 per cent of those who watched TV ads for phones and computer games chose a bungee jump.
But amongst those who’d seen romantic imagery it was almost 75 per cent.
In a second experiment, a different group of volunteers were subjected to the same romantic or non-romantic images and then asked to evaluate the design of a new website for its consumer appeal.
The website featured two dummy advertisements – one on how to look for the best video games to play and the other promoting a course on bribery and how to do it.
Those who had viewed the love-themed TV clips were more likely to click on the bribery advertisement for more details.
Researchers said previous studies have shown risky behaviour may reflect a desire to demonstrate health and vitality to a possible mate.
In a report on the findings they said: ‘Romance may make people become more focused on short-term mating strategies – which can lead to increased risk-taking.
‘This behaviour may be designed to enhance attractiveness.
‘There also seems to be a strong connection between romance and an inability to exercise personal control.’
