World affairs

Ever wonder why you suddenly become more generous when there’s an attractive woman in sight? Apparently it’s in your genes.

The Telegraph reports that a study has shown men are more likely to show off by doing good deeds if they are in the company of beautiful women. It probably won’t be too long until charities start enlisting scantily-clad models for help when it comes to getting donations on the street.

The reason behind this surge of compassion? Men actively compete to outdo each other when being watched by attractive women. Men think that women value kindness, so they subconsciously up their generosity in the hopes that it’ll help them score with the woman.

Researchers are calling this phenomenon the 'peacock' effect as men mimic the behaviour of the peacock, who fans out his tail to improve his appearance when a female is around.

Researchers enlisted 65 men and 65 women and observed them as they played a game where individuals could donate money to a shared group fund.

When being watched by an attractive woman, the men were found to be significantly more generous with their donations, while the women’s behaviour did not change if they were being watched by an attractive man.

The study found that the men began to compete with each other by raising the value of their donations.

According to researchers, men change their behaviour in the presence of a woman because instinctively they are trying to boost their chances of securing a mate.

“The research shows that good deeds among men increase when presented with an opportunity to copulate,” said Dr Wendy Iredale, who led the study.

“Theoretically, this suggests that a good deed is the human equivalent of the peacock’s tail. Practically, this research shows how societies can encourage selfless acts,” she added.

Do you think there is any truth in this?