Psychology

Fear can be mistaken for attraction — a shaky bridge proved it

Researchers had men cross either a rickety suspension bridge or a solid, low one, then meet an attractive interviewer who left her number. Men from the scary bridge called back far more often, apparently mistaking a racing heart for romantic interest instead of fear. It's one of psychology's clearest demonstrations that we can misread our own physiological arousal.

Donald Dutton and Arthur Aron, Some Evidence for Heightened Sexual Attraction Under Conditions of High Anxiety — Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1974

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