Monday, June 7, 2010

(Man) Bachelorette/Bachelor Spoiler

I was at blockbuster picking out a movie tonight. Not to be watched tonight ‘cause Daisy is tuned into a show where the main character picks men based on how well they kiss or how safe she feels with them while doing something “scary”. Please note an example of the two factor theory of emotion.

The two factor theory of emotion is a social psychology theory that views emotion as having two components (factors): physiological arousal and cognition. According to the theory, "cognitions are used to interpret the meaning of physiological reactions to outside events."

Don’t read on if you like the Bachelorette and refuse any psychological influence to ruin your show.

High Bridge study

Social Psychologists Donald G. Dutton and Arthur P. Aron used a natural setting to induce physiological arousal in their test of the Two Factor Theory of Emotion. In their study, an attractive female experimenter asked male passers-by to complete a brief survey. She intercepted potential participants either at the end of a bridge or on the bridge itself. The footbridge used was the Capilano Suspension Bridge, a narrow bridge that spans a deep ravine. Following the survey interview, the experimenter gave the participants her telephone number in case they had further questions. The dependent variable in this experiment was the number of telephone calls received from the participants after the experiment.
Male participants were asked to meet an interviewer in the middle of one of two bridges. One was a safe-looking bridge and one looked more dangerous. An attractive female researcher interviewed the male passers-by in the middle of the two bridges. She gave them her telephone number in case they wanted to ask about the results. Men on the less safe-looking bridge were more aroused by the height of the bridge, and were likely to confuse their feelings for being 'lovestruck'. They were then more likely to call her back, looking for a date.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_factor_theory_of_emotion

Also see alternatives such as James-Lange theory

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James-Lange_theory

and Cannon-Bard theory

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannon-Bard_theory

Mind you, I watched three straight seasons from beginning to end with my wife so we could spend quality time together. I get the attraction to the show. It’s just food for thought.

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