Music is the key to a woman's heart, after research showed that they are more likely to give men their phone numbers if romantic songs are playing in the background.
In tests by French psychologists, an "average-looking man" was challenged to get as many single women as possible to hand over their numbers and go for a drink.
如果在约会前听上一段浪漫的歌词,那么他的成功几率将会翻倍。
If his potential dates had been listening to romantic lyrics beforehand, his chances of success were doubled.
来自南布列塔尼大学和南巴黎大学的专家们挑选出87位18至20岁女性参加该实验。
For the tests, experts from the University of southern Brittany and the University of southern Paris selected 87 female volunteers aged 18 to 20.
They each spent five minutes in a waiting room while one of two carefully selected tunes played in the background. They heard either a romantic ballad – Je L'aime a Mourir (I Love Her to Death) by Francis Cabrel, or L'heure du The (Time For Tea) by Vincent Delerm which was classed as neutral.
Next, thinking they were taking part in a consumer survey, they were taken to a different room and asked to discuss the difference between two types of biscuit with the 20-year-old man.
At the end of the discussion, he would use the same chat-up line with each one: "My name is Antoine, as you know. I think you are very nice and I was wondering if you would give me your phone number. I'll phone you later and we can have a drink together somewhere next week."
每次说完这句话后,安托万要凝视对方并微笑,等待对方回答。
Each time after making his pitch, Antoine was instructed "to gaze and smile at the participant" while she considered her answer.
Only 27.9 percent of the women who heard the neutral music agreed to Antoine's proposal. But those who were exposed to the love song were much easier to win over – 52.2 percent of that group offered their details.
该研究似乎可以证实一个理论:男士在求爱时,应谨慎选择背景音乐。
The research appears to back up theory that any man making romantic overtures should be careful to when choosing music "back at his place."
参与研究的科学家们将实验结果发表在《音乐心理学》期刊上,他们相信浪漫情歌可以刺激人类的行为。
The scientists, who published the results in the journal Psychology of Music, believe that romantic lyrics may "prime" people's behaviour.
"It was found that women previously exposed to romantic lyrics complied with the request more readily than women exposed to the neutral ones. The difference was significant. If you're having trouble getting a date, picking the right soundtrack could improve the odds," they said.
作为研究者之一,尼古拉•盖冈表示:“对研究背景音乐对个体行为影响的科学家而言,这是个有趣的结论。”
One of the researchers, Nicolas Gueguen, wrote, "The results are interesting for scientists who work on the effect of background music on individuals' behaviour."
It is not just women who fall under the spell of love songs. Previous work by the same team found that men spent more money in florists when romantic music was being played.