Pretty girls increase risky behaviour in young men

Presence of a pretty woman can lead men to throw caution to the wind, says a new University of Queensland research.

To reach the conclusion, Professor Bill von Hippel and doctoral student Richard Ronay, from the university''s School of Psychology examined the links between physical risk-taking in young men and the presence of attractive women at a local skate park, reports The Courier Mail.

"Historically men have competed with each other for access to fertile women and the winners of those competitions are the ones who pass on their genes to future generations. Risk-taking would have been inherent in such a competitive mating strategy," said Professor von Hippel.

After analyses, it was found that the young male skateboarders took more risks in the presence of an attractive female observer rather than a male spectator.

Saliva was also tested to measure participants'' testosterone levels which showed that risk taking was caused by elevated testosterone levels brought on by the presence of the attractive female.

The expert added: "Our results suggest that displays of physical risk-taking might best be understood as hormonally fuelled advertisements of health and vigour aimed at potential mates, and signals of strength, fitness, and daring intended to intimidate potential rivals.

"Other instances of physical risk taking that contribute to men''s early mortality, such as dangerous driving and physical aggression, might also be influenced by increases in testosterone brought about by the presence of attractive women."