In doing this, they had a very attractive young man (so determined by the ratings by a panel of young women) approach at random 300 unfamiliar young women aged between 18 and 22 years, without regard to appearance, and proposition them thusly:
"Hello. My name’s Antoine. I just want to say that I think you’re really pretty. I have to go to work this afternoon, and I was wondering if you would give me your phone number. I’ll phone you later and we can have a drink together someplace."
In general, the French girls gave him their number 14% of the time if he was holding nothing. If he was holding the sports bag, though, gave him their number just 9% of the time. It looks like presenting yourself as an athlete might be a handicap.
If he was holding the guitar case, he was significantly more likely to get their number: 31% of the time. Not bad at all considering he was approaching random strangers in the street. There is strong evidence that the mystical, romantic image of the musician had a pretty powerful effect.
The researchers gave no mention of whether the young man did with all the telephone numbers. I hope he was a gentleman enough to follow through on the 54 ladies who gave him their numbers. I know that, if I had given my cell number to someone, I would feel deeply wounded if he did not call.
In my opinion, the requirements of an experiment do not trump the norms of politeness and decency in courtship behavior. If the ladies expected a possible pleasant session with an attractive guy, or romance, or tryst, they were misled.
Those French girls are not very bright, are they?
ReplyDeleteoh, agreed!
ReplyDeleteI would have been disappointed if he didn't follow through. This "research" is kind of creepy.
ReplyDeleteI asked 100 women which type of shampoo they preferred. The #1 answer was "what the hell are you doing in my bathroom?"
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, I think that's pretty interesting. from 9% to 14% to 31% is very significant.
Very interesting study. It won't do me any good but I'll pass the info along to my guitar playing son.
ReplyDeleteI think this information could be used for good purposes.
ReplyDeleteI should have studied guitar.
It's pretty poor that they were misled after their going a bit out on a limb by giving a stranger their mobile number. I wonder if American women are as strongly drawn to guitar players, or is it a French thing?
ReplyDeleteI wonder how effective would attorneys or government functionaires be in getting girls' tlephone numbers?
ReplyDeleteThis could be tough on guys who play the piano or the tuba. I'll bet those cases are expensive.
ReplyDeleteI bet this would work across the board...more women would give the guy their number if they were carrying a guitar case...Musicians feel glamorous...and they probably should show the age of the women..I bet that has a lot to do with things too.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to admit that I was intrigued with this research, but also put off because of the deception which could have hurt severasl peoples' feelings. I know I would feel hurt had I been asked, gave my number, and Antoine didnt call.
ReplyDeleteWouldnt it be worse if he laid you, and never called?
ReplyDelete