快猫短视频

A TALL, handsome, stranger approaches me at the bar. For a fleeting moment I wonder if he may be 鈥渢he One鈥�. Then he opens his mouth: 鈥淚 may not be Fred Flintstone but I can sure make your bed rock.鈥� Cringing inwardly, I smile and walk in the opposite direction.

Lame as it was, Mr Flintstone鈥檚 line nevertheless set me thinking about the hoops we humans jump through to find a mate. While you鈥檒l find any number of books on the art of seduction by well-versed pick-up artists, I wondered what science had to say on the matter.

With a bit of digging around I uncovered a wealth of recent research on attracting a mate. Ever since Charles Darwin outlined his theory of sexual selection, biologists have been fascinated by the ways in which animals compete with one another for a partner. The peacock鈥檚 tail is perhaps the best known illustration of this evolutionary struggle. Although it doesn鈥檛 help an individual bird to survive, prodigious plumage suggests its owner is physically fitter, so the peahens find it more attractive. We humans are no different, with various characteristics and behaviours, such as the classic chat-up line, that have evolved in the name of love.

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If the latest research is to be believed, adjusting how we act and what we say to exploit our evolutionary biases should give you the edge in the dating game. There was just one problem: most of the experiments took place in the rather unnatural setting of a lab, and I was a little dubious that the researchers鈥� advice would do the trick in the outside world. If only I could test the principles for myself, I thought.

The perfect opportunity came when my two friends, 快猫短视频 sub-editor Sean O鈥橬eill and our video producer Catherine de Lange, were mulling over their single status. Quickly hatching a plan, I persuaded the two to take part in a rough-and-ready experiment 鈥� a make-over, based on the scientists鈥� advice, which we would then put to the test in the local pub.

Their first task was to rethink the colour of their wardrobe. Female animals often use the colour red to signal fertility, and its amorous ties can be found in the folklore of many human cultures: numerous tales and aphorisms link the colour to a woman鈥檚 allure, passion and fertility. Recent studies suggest these beliefs may have some basis, showing that a 鈥渓ady in red鈥� really is more attractive ().

The flush of success

Are men equally attractive when attired in red? Certain primates often show a red flush following a surge of testosterone in their bloodstream. Since testosterone suppresses the immune system, a red flush tells the female that the male must be in good health to cope with the deficit (). The same colouring is also thought to signal a higher status within the group 鈥� another trait that would certainly increase a mate鈥檚 attractiveness in the animal kingdom.

To find out if a radiant rouge signals good genes and status in human males too, an international team of researchers recently asked a group of women to rate a picture of a moderately attractive man. Some saw the man in a red shirt, while others saw versions of the same image altered to give the shirt different colours. The red clothing worked a treat, increasing the man鈥檚 desirability, and perceived status, compared with the other shades ().

Figuring that Sean and Cat couldn鈥檛 rely on their clothing to do all the work, I looked for other ways of helping my guinea pigs. One of the most widely researched approaches requires a little deception. 鈥淭here are many key cues for appearing attractive to the opposite sex, and one which can help a man is to look like he鈥檚 off the market,鈥� says at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.

鈥淥ne of the key cues to help a man appear attractive to the opposite sex is to look like he鈥檚 off the market鈥�

Psychologists have long suspected that single women are much keener on pursuing a man who鈥檚 already taken than a singleton. This seems counter-intuitive, so Burkley and colleagues asked 97 female volunteers to answer a computer questionnaire which, they were told, would match them to their ideal partner. In reality every woman was shown a picture of the same man, the only difference being that half were told he was taken while the rest believed he was single. The result? Just 59 per cent of the female volunteers said they would pursue a relationship with the man when told he was single, but an astonishing 90 per cent were up for the chase when they thought he had a girlfriend ().

Inventing an imaginary girlfriend might be a push too far for most people, though. Luckily, a few favourable signals from a female friend might also do the trick. at the University of Aberdeen in the UK and colleagues found that women are more likely to rate a man highly if they see a smiling woman throwing him admiring glances (). And recent work by , now at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, and at the University of Texas at Austin, showed that men are considered more desirable when surrounded by a group of women. Interestingly, the same principles are not true for women looking for a date 鈥� women surrounded by men were consistently rated as being less attractive in the studies.

Why could this be? Burkley wonders if the women鈥檚 responses are partly down to 鈥渢he thrill of the chase鈥�. 鈥淚f you can lure a man away from his girlfriend or wife you鈥檙e the 鈥榖etter鈥� person, more attractive,鈥� she says. Alternatively, the behaviour could be explained by the role of social desirability in mating. Attached men have already been picked out as a good mate by another woman, whereas those who are single are an unknown quantity, she says.

Our male ancestors, on the other hand, would have wanted to steer clear of women who were popular with other guys, fearing they would be cuckolded and left to bring up another man鈥檚 offspring, Hill suggests.

Dressed in their ravishing red clothes, my guinea pigs arrive at the pub. 鈥淐ome on girls, get smiling.鈥� I鈥檓 taking notes as Sean encourages his female colleagues to give him more attention. Sean鈥檚 red T-shirt certainly stands out, and I can see he gets a few glances from a table of young women nearby.

Cat, meanwhile, is standing alone at the bar. Soon enough, a man wanders over. 鈥淧retty busy in here tonight,鈥� he ventures. Cat smiles and agrees. 鈥淎re you trying to get to the bar?鈥� asks another potential mate. With two men in less than 2 minutes vying for her attentions, perhaps there鈥檚 something in this after all.

There鈥檚 more to attraction than simply turning heads, however. What about the opening gambit, once you鈥檝e caught someone鈥檚 eye? As my experience with Mr Flintstone demonstrates, initiating conversation can be difficult, but chat-up lines aren鈥檛 always laughably lame 鈥� they can be viewed from an evolutionary perspective as sexual displays. So says at the University of Edinburgh, UK.

The theory goes like this: both males and females must assess the quality of potential sexual partners. Just as a peacock displays its feathers to show off its worth, a man鈥檚 opening remarks may serve to flaunt qualities that might attract the object of his interest. Characteristics like intelligence, for example, are known to play an important part in a man鈥檚 appeal. When women were asked by researchers at the University of California at Davis to judge men performing a series of tasks on camera, they typically went for the guys with the higher IQ (). The thinking man鈥檚 appeal isn鈥檛 just down to better breadwinning skills 鈥� they also tend to be healthier, and have better quality sperm. So a chat-up line that advertises a high IQ should be more likely to result in a successful encounter than stereotypical risqu茅 remarks or compliments.

Crude but compatible

So why do men keep trying to woo women with these off-colour remarks? Caryl suggests it鈥檚 because the woman鈥檚 reaction reveals something about her personality that hints whether she鈥檇 make a good match. To test this theory, a team led by Caryl presented 381 male and female volunteers with a selection of scenarios involving different types of opening gambit and asked them which they thought had a greater chance of success.

They found that extroverted women were more likely to rate humorous lines as likely to be successful. Women who tended to have short rather than long-term relationships also preferred the sexually loaded remarks and seemed to react more favourably to compliments. If a crude chat-up line earns you the brush-off, the two of you weren鈥檛 compatible anyway.

So which approaches were the most successful, overall? Of the 40 potential scenarios, the most highly rated nearly always started with the man showing an interest in the female鈥檚 surroundings, such as asking for advice on a novel in a bookshop, perhaps because these lines reflected their intelligence.

Humour was also successful: 鈥淓xcuse me, I just noticed you noticing me and I just wanted to give you notice that I noticed you too.鈥� Laughter triggers the release of hormones that are linked with pleasure and social bonding, so it鈥檚 not surprising that humorous lines turned out to be the most popular. Yet humour can easily fall flat if you misread the situation, meaning some attempts can seem thoroughly cringe-worthy: 鈥淵our eyes are blue, like the ocean. And baby, I鈥檓 lost at sea,鈥� being among the worst ().

So how did our own Lothario fare? Primed with one of Caryl鈥檚 winning gambits he approaches an unsuspecting female at a nearby table: 鈥淭en tonne polar bear,鈥� says Sean. The girl looks at him blankly. 鈥淲hat?鈥� she asks. 鈥淭en tonne polar bear?鈥� Sean repeats. The girl鈥檚 friend giggles. 鈥淚t certainly breaks the ice, right?鈥� she says. Beaten to his punchline, Sean smiles and quickly disappears back into the crowd. Although onlookers found it quite amusing, the target of his attentions seemed more confused than enamoured.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe you鈥檙e making me do this,鈥� says Sean on his return. Suspecting that his patience is running out, I decide to turn his attentions to the finer points of flirtation. Facial expressions, for example, can have a big impact on the way you are received, even if they are very subtle. In one study, at Uppsala University in Sweden, and colleagues, photographed the faces of 25 women on three separate occasions: when they were wearing a dowdy outfit, dressed in comfortable clothes, and when they donned their most appealing number. At all times, they were asked to keep their expressions neutral. When the researchers subsequently asked a group of men to rank the mugshots, the guys consistently chose the pictures of the women in their glad rags as the most attractive, despite the fact that the clothes were not actually visible. The researchers concluded that the way women felt about their appearance was apparent even though they were not consciously showing it.

Flirty facial expressions and gestures, like a raised eyebrow or an animated nod of the head, can also work to your advantage, saying more than the actual words you speak. at the University of Bristol, UK, found that men who used flirty facial expressions were rated as the most attractive, even when they were paired with troubling antisocial statements such as 鈥渙ld people bore me鈥�. A flirtatious man shows vigour and social confidence, both of which may reveal good genes, says Clark, who presented his work at a meeting of the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour at Newcastle University, UK, in 2007.

鈥淔lirty facial expressions and gestures, like a raised eyebrow or a nod of the head, mean more than the words you speak鈥�

You may also want to consider your preferred style of flirtation. Psychologists consider there to be five different ways to flirt: traditional, in which a man courts a woman using traditional gender roles (by initiating the conversation and making requests for further engagements, for example); sincere, in which the potential mates try to create an emotional bond; playful, where the behaviour is more superficial and fun; physical, which involves lots of flirty body language; and polite, which is typified by more cautious advances. But which work best? To find out, at the University of Kansas 5000 online volunteers on their flirting styles, their personality and past relationships.

The physical and sincere styles of flirting turned out to be the most successful, apparently leading to some of the most important relationships in the volunteers鈥� lives. For both men and women, the sincere style was also related to a greater likelihood of having a personal and private conversation with someone for whom they had romantic interest. Those who used physical flirting, meanwhile, tended to move more quickly into their relationships, while also reporting more sexual chemistry and emotional connection with their previous partners ().

I鈥檓 about to tell Cat and Sean of these findings, but I can鈥檛 help noticing that they鈥檝e now been talking to one another for an awfully long time. In concentrating my efforts on tweaking the attractiveness of the pair to outsiders, had I missed something a little closer to home? 鈥淚鈥檇 definitely come and talk to you if you were sitting alone at the bar,鈥� I overhear Sean saying to Cat. The sincere approach, I tell myself knowingly.

I pause before deciding to make a discreet exit, leaving my two red-adorned friends talking at length about their shared experience over a bottle of wine.