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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